Tempt Me, Temptation
by meglovesjeff
Summary: Caroline was in a constant battle to save her sanity; she was always at war with her own insecurites, and as if her mess of a love life couldn't get any more complicated, the resident bad boy suddenly takes a morbid interest in her. How will she deal with a human that hates what she is, a werewolf that skips town on her, and a smartass vampire that can't seem to leave her alone?
1. Wake Up Call

Caroline Forbes awoke in the morning when soft tendrils of the new day sunlight streamed in through her window and onto her face. She inwardly cursed herself for leaving the curtains open, grumbling to no one in particular about how she hated the morning time. No one would believe that Caroline Forbes was not a morning person, especially when taking the seemingly never-ending amount of energy she exuded into account. She felt the stiff muscles of her body ache with every move she made in an attempt to stretch her limbs as she clenched her eyes shut tightly, refusing to open them and wanting to stay curled up in her comfy bed.

Planting her face into her overly plush pillow, she took a deep breath and her nostrils were filled with the scent of her sheets and a peculiarly familiar smell. It was rich, masculine and oddly comforting and she nuzzled her face further into her pillow, wanting just a bit more. In the mix of smells, she was suddenly greeted with a fragrance that she was well-accustomed too. The coppery aroma filled her senses and she felt herself growing hungry.

And then, like an impact of a car crash, it hit her. Caroline sat up in bed with a jolt, vaguely taking notice of her state of undress and took in her surroundings. There was a large amount of feathers scattered about her bed and floor, and she found herself wondering if this was how Bella Swan felt after her first night with Edward Cullen. Quickly shaking the thought from her mind, Caroline also noted that it seemed almost all of the decorations she had on her walls were now scattered haphazardly on her floor, the glass from the photo frames shattered. In the midst of all the destruction, she saw it. _Blood._ It was everywhere, on her sheets, on the walls, on her now broken furniture.

Caroline feared the worst, trying to recall how she had ended up in her bed and how the blood had gotten there. What had she done the night before? She hazily remembered sitting at home alone, attempting drowning herself in her mother's poorly hidden liquor, contemplating what to do about the whole Tyler/Matt situation. She hated that things had gotten so complicated.

She really wasn't in the mood for so much drama, especially after the whole ordeal with Jules and her little wolf friends. And Tyler...she remembered thinking about their shared kiss and how she had enjoyed the feeling of his lips against hers. And then downing another gulp of the fiery liquid to stop her thoughts, she refused to lust after a _werewolf_. Then there was a knock at her door and she was tempted to ignore it, thinking it was Stefan coming to check up on her again, but she figured she could just shoo him off with an "I'm fine" like she had done so a couple days ago.

However, when she lazily opened the door, she wasn't met with Stefan's golden-brown eyes, but instead, they were a shade of icy blue.

Damon.

_Shit. DAMON._ She shook her head vigorously, feeling somewhat reminiscent on the first time she had slept with Damon. Except this time, it looked as if someone had been murdered in her sheets. She turned her head slowly, looking to the other side of her bed where Damon had once slept, fully expecting him to be sleeping soundly like he had the last time, but hoping he wasn't at the same time. And she breathed a sigh of relief when the remainder of her bed was empty. Maybe she had just gotten really drunk, killed a couple rabbits and brought them back to her room. She inwardly cringed at the thought of a rotting rabbit carcass somewhere in her bedroom. But she decided she would much rather it be a dead rabbit than the likes of Damon Salvatore. Unless he was dead, of course.

Caroline groaned, running her fingers through her blonde locks, which were partially caked with dried blood, and when her fingers skimmed over her neck, she flinched when she touched a particularly sore spot. She needed a shower. Now.

Caroline threw herself back down in her blood streaked sheets and audibly growled, frustrated that she had no idea what was going on. She had a million thoughts racing through her brain and somewhere in the back of her mind she thanked whomever was up there that she didn't have a hangover. She wondered if it was some cool vampire trick because she was pretty sure she had finished her mother's stash, although she didn't exactly remember feeling wasted.

"Good morning, sunshine." Caroline froze. _CRAP._ And suddenly, just like that, the events of the previous night came crashing back to her like some kind of twisted movie she didn't want to watch.

A/N: Posted this on LJ. Figured I'd add it here.


	2. I Knew You Were Trouble

The more alcohol that Caroline consumed, the happier she became. Her mother was working the night shift again, so Caroline was left home alone, which is the way she had preferred it as of late. She was currently lounged in her living room with the stash of her mother's alcohol that she had found, with little effort might she add, underneath the kitchen sink behind the cleaning products that were rarely ever used.

All she wanted to do was get drunk, get drunk so she could stop thinking and worrying about everything that had been going on. She had ignored all the phone calls and text messages she had been getting all night; she figured it was either Bonnie or Elena just trying to make sure she was still alive. They could wait until morning. Right now, Caroline just wanted to be alone. Alone with her bottle of bourbon which seemed to be calling her name. She wanted to forget. Forget about Matt, forget about Tyler, forget about all vampires and werewolves alike.

Why did her life have to be so complicated? She wished she could go back in time, back to a time when things were simple, back to a time when she was _human._ Most people would be ecstatic about being given immortality, and although she would never admit it to anyone, she hated that fact that she would never age a day over seventeen. She always knew that she would age well, she was, after all, beautiful Caroline Forbes. She liked to imagine how her life would've been different if she hadn't been turned. Her and Matt would've graduated together, gone to college, he would've proposed to her, and they would've started a family together. But now, she would never have any of that, and Caroline _hated _it.

She was pulled from her thoughts when there was a soft knock at her door, so soft that she probably wouldn't have been able to hear it had she still been human. But nonetheless, she heard it and whoever was at her door had interrupted her night and had better have a damn good reason for doing so.

She was almost tempted to just pretend like she hadn't heard the knock, but sadly, being Caroline, curiosity got the best of her. She planned on shooing whoever was at her door away anyway. She reasoned that it was probably Stefan Salvatore, in all of his gorgeousness, checking up on her to make sure she was okay. He had been doing that a lot lately, and although she didn't feel like dealing with anyone at the moment, she couldn't deny that she wouldn't mind seeing his pretty face. Now that she had gotten herself excited about seeing Stefan, she knew she'd be disappointed if it was anyone else.

So she dropped the bottle on the coffee table in front of her and made her way rather lethargically to her front door. She peered through the curtains that framed the window on the door, expecting to see Stefan smiling at her, but instead, she was met with an empty porch.

_Okay..._That was weird. But going against her better judgment, she slowly undid the bolt on the door and pulled it open, only to be greeted by a pair of crystal blue eyes and a half smile that she had grown to hate.

"Blondie." a silky voice met her ears. She visibly grimaced at the nickname, but also because it was _Damon Salvatore _who had said it.

"Damon. What do you want?" she questioned, narrowing her eyes dangerously at him.

"Don't you ever answer your phone? I was _worried _about you, dear." He said incredulously, purposely dragging out the word 'worried'. Caroline rolled her eyes; Damon was up to something. "Aren't you going to invite me in?" He asked, blinking his eyes innocently.

"No." She scoffed. "Now what do you want?"

"Geez, so rude. Chill, Blondie. Stefan and Elena were being love bunnies. It was making me sick. Had to get out of there and had no where else to go." He shrugged. "So I come in peace." He held up both of his hands as if in surrender.

"I find that hard to believe. _You_ and not having somewhere else to go? Right. Still doesn't mean I'm gonna invite you inside. Go find someone else to bother. I'm not in the mood."

"Oh come on, you know you love my company." He side stepped around her and within seconds he had made his way into her house. She glared at him in surprised, pondering how he had managed to make his way inside without inviting him in. "Don't look so shocked. I was invited into this house a _long _time ago, remember?" He mocked, referring to the time after they had first met. "Besides, I come bearing gifts." He pulled a bottle similar to the one she had just been drinking from out of the leather jacket he usually wore. "But by the looks of it," he paused, looking at the half empty bottles that lay scattered on the floor in front of the couch. "The party's already started. Drowning your sorrows in alcohol, Blondie?"

"My name isn't Blondie. Jackass."

"Ooo, someone's a little touchy. _Fine. CA-RO-LINE." _He sang her name. He threw himself on the couch, leaning back against the plush cushion and making himself comfortable. "Come on, sit down." he stated, patting the spot on the couch next to him. Caroline rolled her eyes again, but resigned herself to dealing with Damon, _for now_. She slammed the front door shut and sauntered over to the opposite end of the couch and plopped herself down reluctantly. She watched as Damon opened his own bottle of liquor and took a large swig of it. She found herself focusing on a drop of liquid that had escaped his lips and was now trailing down the side of his chin, and Damon noticed that she was staring a bit too long and smirked. When Caroline realized that he knew she was staring, she was sure, if she had human blood coursing through her veins, that her face would have flushed twelve different shades of red. She quickly moved her gaze to the bottle of alcohol she had left before Damon arrive and picked it up, bringing the bottle to her lips.

Damon took in the sight of his blonde companion, her usual immaculately styled hair was messy and still wet from the shower she had probably just taken and her long creamy legs were exposed by the ridiculously short shorts that he so loved. She kept her gaze trained straight ahead and took a sip of her drink, trying her hardest to ignore him, which only turned his smirk into a full-fledged smile. Damon had to admit, he was utterly intrigued by her. Yes, she was still the annoying, clingy, and neurotic girl she was when they first met, but there was something different about her ever since she had turned. Something mysterious, and Damon couldn't deny that he captivated by her, although he would never tell her that.

The two of them sat in silence for a few moments, reveling in each others company and the burn of the liquid that was now coursing through their bodies. Neither of them knew how much time had passed before Damon spoke;

"So, how're you and wolf boy doing?" he asked, breaking Caroline out of her reverie.

"That," she paused, drinking the last of her bottle. "Is none of your business." She wasn't even close to being drunk, but her face definitely felt hot as she searched for another bottle of liquor. Upon finding none, she quickly spied the bottle that Damon had momentarily put down on the coffee table in front of him, and with speed with was far from human, she scooped it up but before she could even get the bottle close to her lips, Damon had caught her wrist and pried the glass from her fingertips.

Damon's touch burned her skin, and she pulled her wrist free, settling back down in her seat, mumbling quietly to herself about how he was a "selfish bastard" and Damon chuckled. "It is my business, Caroline. You almost got yourself killed, even worse, you almost got _me_ killed." Damon said, suddenly becoming annoyed.

"Stop being so self-centered, I didn't ask you to come save me." She retorted, crossing her arms angrily over her chest.

"Stop acting like you can handle yourself. You're weak Caroline. You would've died if Stefan and I hadn't shown up. But you just _had_ to open your fucking mouth. You went and broke the only few rules I gave you. I told you to stay away from him." God, she could be so irritating sometimes!

"Look Damon, I really just wanted to spend the night alone. As much as I _love_ spending time with you, I think it's time you went home." Caroline said stiffly, she wasn't in the mood to argue with him.

It was Damon's turn to roll his eyes. "No." he stated firmly. "I'm not done yet." Damon could have sworn he had never seen a facial expression change so fast to pissed off.

"No?"

"No. I just _love _the way you're so torn up about him. I saw how you kissed him back." Caroline's eyes widened. "What? You think we don't keep an eye on you? You may be able to put up a good front, but you're stupid. I knew you were getting involved with him. Never trust a dumb blonde." he mocked.

"Damon," she lowered her voice to an almost whisper as she grit her teeth. "Get out."

He enjoyed watching her get angry, in fact he basked in it. Stefan was certainly right about one thing, all of her emotions were amplified and she felt her eyes becoming dark with anger. She hated that Damon was so smug. She _hated_ Damon. He was such an asshole and she had no idea why he was still sitting in her living room.

"This isn't one of those stupid vampire shows you watch, you can't revoke my invitation. It doesn't work like that." Caroline made a move to get up from the couch, but again, he caught her wrist and pulled her back down. "Sit down, Caroline." She was beyond furious, so with all the strength she could muster, she grabbed the hand that was holding her down and twisted, enjoying the crunching sound the bones of his wrist made. "What the fuck!" Damon yelped, releasing her and clutching his injured wrist.

"Don't you dare tell me what to do. You don't fucking own me." Caroline growled and removed herself from her seat. She was about to make her way to her bedroom, if Damon didn't want to leave, then she would hide out in her room until he left, but again, he caught her off guard, grabbed her neck and threw her face first into the wall of the hallway, slamming his elbow into the back of her neck and holding her in place against the wall.

Within seconds, his breath was at her ear and his lean body was plastered to her back and she visibly shivered. Try as she may, she knew that he was stronger and that fighting against him would only further trap herself. "You of all people should know, _Barbie._" He teased, purposely using the other nickname he had so lovingly given her. "You _are _mine." He grabbed both of her wrists with his free hand and held them above her head, making sure that every part of his body was pressed against hers and Caroline gasped, she was suddenly overwhelmed with his intoxicating scent and when his lips grazed ever so slightly against the tip of her ear, she shuddered. Damon released his hold on her neck and instead snaked his hand around her waist, over her stomach and pulled her lower body away from the wall and tighter against him. "Like it or not, it was _my_ blood that turned you. So I hate to break it to you, doll. But I do _own_ your ass." And he even pressed even more impossibly close to her to make his point. And just as quickly as it had happened, Damon released his hold on her and Caroline was free.

The feeling of his body against hers lingered, and it was all too familiar, but surprisingly new at the same time. "Get out of my house!" she screamed, breaking out of her daze.

Immediately, Damon felt his defenses rise as though they had been turned on like a light switch. "No." he snapped. "Not until you stop acting like an idiot and learn your fucking place."

"Learn my place? You're crazy, Damon! At least I'm not the one sitting around like a lovesick puppy, waiting on someone who's _never_ going to love you back." She knew she was hitting below the belt, but she was more than livid.

"You have no idea what you're talking about, little girl." Damon hissed, taking a couple steps forward until he was in Caroline's face again.

Caroline was irritated and she had no idea why. She should be used to Damon's harsh ways, but she felt her anger overtaking her. It was almost like Damon's presence infuriated her, it made her blood boil. "Oh?" she smirked. "Elena told me all about how Katherine chose Stefan over you. Must really suck that it's happening _again_ with Elena. Poor little Damon, never gonna be enough for anyone."

Damon grabbed the collar of her t-shirt and pulled her close. "If you say another word I'll-"

"You'll what!" Caroline practically shouted, grabbing his once injured wrist again and yanking it away from her shirt. "What will you do?" she pushed at his chest tauntingly and the dark haired male growled low in his throat.

"You're walking a very dangerous line right now. Fuck off," the elder vampire said slowly. "Don't think I won't drive a stake straight through that shallow heart of yours, Blondie. You're useless to me. I only keep you around because of Elena, and _that_ is the only reason you're still alive, so to speak."

"Fuck you and your lines, Damon!" Caroline snarled, and she inwardly hated him even more for the fact that he had turned her into a complete monster. She, Caroline Forbes, had just snarled. Completely un-ladylike.

Caroline's closed fist collided with Damon's jaw so fast that he was momentarily stunned and fell backwards onto the floor. His hand shot up to his jaw and he shot Caroline an icy glare. "You motherfucking..." he was so angry that he trailed off, forgetting the words he wanted to say.

So instead of speaking, he pushed himself off the floor and tackled the other vampire, planting himself on top of her and immediately back-handing the left side of her face. Damon Salvatore was never one to truly hit a female, but she had overstepped her boundaries. Caroline's face snapped to the side violently and her eyes widened almost comically. The only thing he worried about was making her feel pain, so he back-handed her again, this time on the other side.

"You crazy bitch!" Damon shouted at her, his eyes becoming a dark shade of red. "Who the hell do you think you are!"

Caroline's eyes narrowed and she took another swipe at him, this time landing firmly in his gut, winding him.

Gasping, Damon fell off of her and gripped his stomach, too busy trying to catch his breath to stop Caroline from slamming his back to the floor. His head hit the wooden floor with a muffled thump and his vision momentarily blurred, refocusing to find Caroline's face hovering above his, the dark red shade of her eyes mirroring his own.

"Who the hell do you think _you_ are!" the blonde spat at him. "Ever-brooding Damon. You can't just use people the way you do and expect anyone to love you in return!" It gave her a twisted sort of gratification to see the anger on Damon's face as she said it. A fist hit Damon's face again and his bottom lip split open, but healed within a few moments.

"Stupid bitch!" Damon yelled, he knew she was referring to the time when he has used her as a release and a body to feed on, but he didn't care that it had hurt her so much. "You liked every moment of what I did you, you little shit. You begged and moaned like a fucking whore."

Caroline's cheeks flushed with humiliation and fury, and Damon used it to his advantage. He thrust his chest upwards and knocked her off balance. Before she could react, he laid his body on top of her, hastily situating himself between her bent legs and grabbing both of her wrists and pinning them above her head much like he had done moments before. "Hmm, now this is oddly reminiscent." he teased, rolling his hips into hers, enjoying the sensation of her body tensing underneath him.

Damon leaned closer so that his mouth was near Caroline's ear. He rolled his hips again - harder - and Caroline let an involuntary moan slip out. "Oh yeah, you moaned like a whore. Just. Like. That." He moved his hips again, watching the muscles in her arms tense and smirking when her hips bucked upwards to meet his again. "And you like it. You wanted me to fuck you senseless. And you still do."

Suddenly, Caroline bit his neck aggressively, piercing the skin and burying her fangs deep within his flesh, and Damon moaned in a mix of pain and pleasure. Caroline used his surprise to free her wrists and push Damon away from her. She stood quickly, attempting to make her way to her bedroom, but Damon was faster and he grabbed her forearm, throwing her against the wall again.

"Do you want me to fuck you, Caroline?" he asked seductively, smirking. His eyes were now back to normal and he met her surprised gaze. Caroline could still taste his blood in her mouth, it wasn't by any means as satisfying as a human's blood, but it was sweet and heady, and she found herself wanting more.

Damon ran his hands up her torso, his fingers slipping beneath her shirt and he leaned over to suck on her neck. Caroline sucked in a sharp breath and reached forward, gripping his belt, pulling their hips together as Damon squeezed her lace covered breast roughly. They grinded against one another and while he was distracted with digging his teeth into neck as she had done with him, letting her blood leak down onto her t-shirt, she grabbed his arm and spun him around, changing their positions.

"No, I don't." Caroline growled. She immediately pressed their bodies together, her hands ripping at Damon's black shirt, sending the buttons flying. She scraped her nails harshly down his chiseled chest, ripping into the skin and leaving bright red streaks of blood in its wake. Damon growled deep in his throat and the moment Caroline looked up, they both froze, their lips were less than a millimeter apart. As much as she knew that she should turn away and run as fast as she could in the opposite direction, Caroline remained stationary, and Damon could read the internal battle she was having with herself clearly in her eyes. He didn't care.

"Liar." Damon whispered, his breath fanning out over her lips in a way that almost drove her crazy.

Damon's mind was so clouded with an unbelievable lust at that point that he could barely contain himself. He wanted nothing more than to throw her down on the floor and fuck her until she was screaming his name. When had sweet, innocent, girly-girl Caroline become so fucking sexy? And why did he have such little control around her?

Damon closed the gap between them, pulling Caroline's blood-stained lip into his mouth, vaguely tasting his own blood before he pulled back. He was about to say something, but when their eyes met, he was knocked silent. They stared at each other silently for a moment, neither one of them willing to back down. Damon's lips parted slightly and Caroline's eyes flickered to the bruised flesh before looking back up.

All at once, their lips were smashed together. Teeth clashed, tongues fought, and lips bruised. Caroline bit into Damon's lip, releasing a steady flow of his blood into their mouths and she moaned into his mouth lewdly. Caroline's fingers worked their way into Damon's hair, grabbing fistfuls and pulling him closer, thrusting her tongue further into his mouth. She felt strong hands slide down to her barely covered ass, pressing their hips harder together.

The kiss was raw and hungry, like they were starved for each other. Their tongues twisted together and they both moaned softly, hips rubbing and hands gripping tightly. And it was possibly the most erotic thing either one of them had ever experienced.

Then Caroline was pulling away, unlocking their lips from one another. Damon was flushed and panting, and he opened his eyes to see that Caroline was no better off.

Then, in that split second, their gazes met and Damon saw the lust that clouded her eyes and he knew that she wanted him just as badly as he wanted her. Within moments, Caroline stepped away from him completely, rearranging her clothes and composing herself, her eyes remaining averted. "Leave." she commanded, her voice low and raspy.

Without another word, Caroline turned away from him. She had no idea why she has kissed him, and she was mad at herself for wanting more. What had she been thinking, kissing Damon like that? She knew it was a stupid thing to do. And she didn't even want to think about what Elena would have to say if she ever found out. But her mind was so clouded with lust and want, she couldn't even bring herself to care enough. All she knew was that she needed to get away from him before she did something else she would regret.

A/N: Hopefully I'll be done with the next chapter soon. Sorry for the totally random cliffhanger ending.


	3. The Boys You Do (Get Back At You)

A/N: Awww, thank you guys so much for the wonderful reviews! Makes me smile! =] So I apologize greatly for the MEGA delay. Been getting ready to deploy to Afghanistan, so I've been a little preoccupied. Yeah, this chapter also took me a while to write too. I'm a little out of practice. Anyways, I hope you enjoy. Reviews = love! 3

Damon Salvatore was never one to beg for female attention. He knew that he was attractive, and he knew how to use it to his advantage. He had definitely had his share of women, and the young blonde who just had him shoved up against the wall was no exception.

Against his better judgment, his mind still hazy from the kiss, Damon grabbed her forearm before she could take another step and pulled her back against him. Caroline gasped, trying to snap her arm out of his grip, but Damon switched their positions so that she was up against the wall once more. Caroline drew in a breath, she was getting extremely tired of being pushed up against the wall. "Damon, no." she warned, trying to push away the wave of dizziness she felt from intoxication.

"You're such a liar, Caroline." Damon whispered, resting his head against the wall beside her head. "You know you want this." he said softly, hands meeting the hem of her t-shirt and trailing up her body, taking the shirt with him. Caroline involuntarily leaned into his burning touch, her eyes rolling backwards. Images of his hands roaming her body, the feeling of his lips against her skin, his mouth between her legs, his fingers inside her, the feeling of _him_ inside of her crowded her mind. The memories of the past had come back in pieces to her, but she could now recall every last detail, and she couldn't deny that he had made her feeling _amazing._

They had both lost their minds. And whether it was the alcohol in their systems or the fact that the both of them needed something to help them forget about their problems, the two of them had started something and they knew they would never be satisfied until they finished it.

And without so much as a warning, Damon pulled his head back and crushed his lips to Caroline's for the second time that night, kissing her desperately, pushing his tongue into her mouth and taking her for all that she was worth with his mouth alone.

Caroline couldn't help but kiss back. She could only go so far to deny Damon's advances, but this? This was too much. She wanted to feel him again, wanted to taste him again. So she kissed him back, desperately, moaning when Damon's hands hastily made their way down to her ass again and squeezed. Caroline growled, bringing her hands up to his shoulders and ripping the remnants of his shirt and jacket down his arms and tossing it in no particular direction. She relished in the sensation of his bare skin beneath her fingertips, but was cut short when Damon pulled back from the kiss and raised her arms over her head, quickly ridding her of the bloody t-shirt she was still wearing. He took a moment to absorb the sight of her smooth, creamy skin, and beamed when he saw the blue lace that covered her supple breasts.

"You remembered that I like blue." he teased.

"Shut up." she said, rolling her eyes at him once more. She seemed to be doing that a lot around Damon, but she figured he deserved it for being such a smartass.

He slid one hand behind her, resting it on the small of her back, trying to pull her towards him, but only managed to bring her lower body as she bowed her back, leaning her head against the wall and exposing her lean neck. Because he was taller than her, especially when she wasn't wearing any of those absurd heels she liked to wear all the time, he easily leaned forward and embedded his teeth into her neck again. It hurt, but soon the pain was replaced with such a delicious pleasure that Caroline could feel her fingers and toes tingling.

He snaked his free hand up to her covered breast, his thumb rolling over the peak of her nipple, and Caroline's body jerked closer to him, her back arching even further into him. Damon released her neck from his mouth and chuckled, enjoying the look of euphoria that was currently plastered on her face. "Don't tell me," he began, running his tongue over the bloody wound on her neck that was slowly closing up. "You haven't let anyone _touch_ you since you turned." He ran his thumb over her nipple again, confirming his suspicions when her body shivered into his touch again.

She was fed up of his bantering, so Caroline dropped her hands to his waist, one hand grabbing him roughly through the fabric of his jeans and squeezing, causing Damon to grit his teeth and let out a low groan. "Stop teasing." she commanded, and had he been a human, he probably would have been compelled. And then she was practically ripping the leather of his belt, undoing the button and zipper of his jeans before she slipped her hand inside and gripped him again through his boxers.

"Fuck," he hissed, planting both of his hands on the wall behind Caroline, enjoying her ministrations for a moment before tearing her hand out of his pants and grabbing her waist with a bruising force and lifting her off the ground. She bent both of her legs, essentially perching herself on Damon's hips, never missing a beat, and in the next instant she had her arms entwined around his neck, her blonde hair now falling down and tickling his face. Damon shoved one of his hands into hair again, holding it away from his face and brought her lips back down to his, engaging them in another mind-blowing kiss.

He wandered back into the living room, finding it hard not to trip over his own feet when Caroline was doing that _thing _with her tongue. And when his knees met the side of the couch they had once been lounged upon, he removed her from his body and all but threw her down onto cushions. Any remaining breath that might have still been in her lungs rushed out of her as the solid mass of Damon's body was once again crushed against her.

Caroline couldn't understand why everything he did felt so good. Everywhere Damon touched her, she felt like her skin was on fire. It was intoxicating; _he _was intoxicating. Neither of them knew how they had gone from screaming at each other and fighting, to almost desperately trying to rip each others clothes off, but here they were now, grinding, touching, biting - and loving every second of it.

Damon leaned down and kissed her again and Caroline couldn't help but moan as the man on top of her continued to roll their hips together. Rather haphazardly, she gripped the waistband of his jeans and yanked them as far downwards as she could in her current position, but Damon soon took the hint and shimmied them the rest of the way down his legs, removing his shoes in the process, before kicking the unwanted article of clothing out of sight.

Caroline giggled into the kiss, which was soon replaced with a whimper as Damon's hand trailed up the length of her body and resumed its former position of her breast. He pulled the lace of her bra down, exposing the bare skin of her chest, and he slowly began to kiss and lick his way down the column of her throat, pausing to lap at the excess blood that had escaped from the wound that he had given her.

She was already so unbelievably turned on, and the feeling of Damon's bare skin on hers only served to spur on her arousal. And in the next instant, Damon's hot mouth was moving lower, stopping to bite and lick at one nipple before moving to the other. He pulled his head away from her chest giving after giving one a final, yet harmless nip with his fangs, then looked up directly into her half-lidded eyes as he slowly moved his head lower, making his way down her body, and kissing warm flesh as he did. Caroline arched into him, silently gasping his name before entangling her fingers in his hair and pulling him back up.

They were kissing again - fiercer, more demanding - and hips were grinding together in a wave of lust that had both of their minds spinning. She bit his lip hard, making it bleed again, and Damon responded by grasping the hem of her shorts, almost tempted to rip the garment, but decided against it because he actually liked those shorts on her, instead, he pulled them down, removing them from her body. Within seconds, he nudged his right hand between her smooth, firm thighs and gently spread them apart further, his fingertips finding the apex of her legs that was still covered by her mismatching black panties.

Caroline pressed the back of her head to the cushion on the couch and arched her abdomen even more into the man, moving towards his touch. Damon gave up a dry chuckle and lowered his face to her neck again, and with no warning, he moved her underwear to the side and plunged two long fingers inside her, while simultaneously sinking his fangs into her flesh again.

She squeezed her eyes shut, stifled a moan, and bowed her back against the couch beneath her as Damon began to pump his fingers into her while the pad of his thumb worked against her already over-sensitized clit. He smiled around the wound in her neck with quiet amusement as she began to work her hips against his hand, giving herself fully to him and the pleasure he created for her.

Although his fingers were merely a mock-up of what was to come, she could not focus her mind even that far. His skilled fingers danced and thrust inside her, the muscles clenching tighter with each movement, and each deft undulation they made stroking against her, brought her closer to coming undone. Her body was thrumming with desire and she tugged at Damon's hair again, pulling him away from her neck to look up at face. His mouth was coated a shade of dark red from her blood, and she swore there was nothing more erotic looking than the sight of her blood on his face.

Caroline's body tensed for a moment, then convulsed rapidly as she came with a loud moan and a flick of his wrist, pulling on his hair hard enough to elicit a painful grunt from him. White-hot ecstasy surged through Caroline's veins with every slamming throb of her body, then slowly ebbed away into a quivering aftermath as her peak subsided. She moaned and sagged weakly against the cushions, releasing Damon from the tight hold her fingers had on his hair. She lay limp, wide-eyed, and completely breathless before him, her chest heaving hard with each gasping breath.

Her mind was racing at a hundred miles an hour. She couldn't fully comprehend what had just happened. All she knew was that she had just experienced the most intense orgasm ever, and she couldn't help but let her mind wander back to notion that everything was more amplified as a vampire. It was exhilarating; and she knew that she wanted more.

"What was that I said about you moaning like a whore?" Damon taunted, removing his fingers and smirking down at a rather sated Caroline. His words brought her back down from her high, and she narrowed her eyes at him annoyed, and with supernatural speed and strength, she pushed Damon off her body, and was straddling him within the next few seconds, her bare thighs settling on either side of his.

"Fuck you," she spat between clenched teeth. "Stop being such an asshole." Her lips came crashing down upon his so hard that their teeth clicked together. Damon didn't even have time to react to the kiss before he felt one of Caroline's hand tugging at his boxers, and in the next moment, her slender fingers were wrapped around his newly freed cock, teasing and stroking. Damon's hips involuntarily moved toward her touch, his head falling back against the couch cushion, momentarily breaking their kiss. Caroline smirked in victory as she watched the ever-irritating vampire's eyes fall shut.

Damon knew that Caroline was no virgin, but that didn't stop him from marveling at how good she was at making him want her. She seemed to know exactly what to do to make him moan and writhe and that was usually a large feat for anyone to accomplish, considering he had been around for many, many years, and had had several woman, but here Caroline was, playing him like he was some kind of game. It was almost unnerving.

She decided that she didn't want to overindulge him, so her hand flitted away from his cock, and Damon was about to protest, but before he knew it, she had once again moved her panties to the side, and had swiftly lowered herself onto him as much as she could. She felt Damon's fingers tighten on her thighs, almost feeling the bruises forming, but was too concentrated on the sensation of him filling her so completely. Her head fell back and her mouth opened in a silent cry, slowly adjusting herself to his size. Damon hissed and groaned at the heat of Caroline's body, his hands coming to rest upon her small waist, while at the same time, lifting his hips to press himself into her more so than he already was.

Wrapping one arm around Damon's neck and bracing the other against the back of the couch, Caroline slowly pulled herself up and dropped back down, agonizingly slow and torturous, earning moans from the both of them. She lifted herself up again, this time, twisting her hips as she sat back down. Their moans were louder this time and she felt Damon's short fingernails digging into the skin over her hipbones. The blonde arched her back and ground her hips forward, earning herself a whispered curse from the dark-haired vampire.

Damon could feel himself losing control with each movement that Caroline made, but her pace was still too slow for his liking, so instead of trying to urge her to go faster, he wrapped an arm around the small of her back and flipped their positions again, her back once again meeting with the cushions. Caroline was about to curse at him again, but lost her words as Damon began to thrust into her, the pace quick and unrelenting. The woman beneath him arched and whimpered, and let him thrust into her willing body. Besides the moaning and occasional whispered curse or plead, there were no other words spoken between them, nothing to indicate that this was more than it was...pure, unadulterated fucking.

Caroline's shoulders and collarbone was glistening in the light of the room, her golden strands of hair brushing against her face messily, but Damon dare not brush them away, it was too much of a tender act to even think about performing. They were not lovers - no, they could barely even be called friends. This was just a release. For the both of them, or so he told himself as he continued to please the woman beneath him.

Caroline's fingers wound themselves in his already disheveled hair and pulled him down for another kiss in an attempt to silence her own moans and because Damon didn't seem to mind the familiar battle of lips and tongue as much as he should.

When Caroline finally released Damon's lips, he took in the sight of her flushed cheeks, her parted lips that released short, ragged pants, and felt the small, almost discernible thrust of her hips against his own quick thrusts, and naturally, he knew that she was almost to her peak for the second time that night.

"Harder," she whispered, her head falling back, eyes rolling back.

"Happy to oblige," Damon smirked, his voice raspy. He pulled his hips and then thrust back in with a quick snap. The pace was harder now - faster - and it wasn't long before the pair of them were panting and moaning, clawing at each others skin, almost trying to devour one another.

Damon moved faster, and he could feel his stomach beginning to clench, signaling his inevitable finish. Caroline came first, crying out loudly as her back arched, her fingernails tearing into his flesh again. He thrust several more times into her shivering body as she clenched tightly around him, tensing when her teeth sunk into the crook of his neck, his blood spilling between her lips, and it proved to be his undoing. He came moments later, slipping himself inside Caroline's tight body with a stifled groan.

They stayed like that for what seemed like hours, neither willing to move, trying to catch their breaths. Caroline couldn't believe what had just transpired between the two of them, she also couldn't believe how amazing it had felt! She mentally noted that 'vampire sex' was _way_ better than human sex. Damon lay still, hovering above her, his body covered in a light sheen of sweat, his chest heaving, and his mind trying to comprehend _why _he had just fucked _Caroline Forbes - _the vampire barbie, annoying, irritating, infuriating, wolf-loving _Caroline Forbes_.

Damon spent a moment too long resting against her, and he soon found himself being rolled off her body, and the couch altogether, landing on the floor next to the couch with a loud thud. "What the fuck, Caroline?" he coughed, trying to catch the breath that was unexpectedly knocked out of him. And within the next few moments, the blonde was on top of him again, an evil glint shining in her bright blue eyes, her tongue running over one of her elongated fangs.

"I still hate you." She stated as a matter of factly, the palms of her hands coming down upon the smooth skin of his chest. She leaned forward, bringing her mouth close to his ear, momentarily licking the shell, before whispering; "Fuck me again."

And Damon Salvatore was more than happy to comply.

A/N: Whew, that took way too long to write. -_- Anyway, I hope it was okay~!


	4. One More Night

A/N: I AM A TERRIBLE PERSON! I KNOW. It's been sooooo long! Apologies for the stupid long wait. I deployed to Afghanistan[yes, I'm in the military], so I've been super busy. But, to make up for it, I should be updating a lot more frequently now. :] Well, here's the continuation. Enjoy.

Caroline hated the smell of smoke. She couldn't stand it, and yet she watched the tendrils of smoke spiral into the air.

Smoking was a terrible habit, in Caroline's opinion. Regardless, she took another drag of the cancer stick that sat delicately between her rather bruised looking lips. Now, Caroline wasn't a smoker by any means, but at this moment, it was her vice. No, she wasn't addicted to the nicotine, and she wasn't too crazy about the taste it left in her mouth, but right now, she was fine with hating the smoke and breathing it in with the same thought.

It was just another day at school, and the usual Caroline Forbes, who was always one to involve herself in every school activity possible, found her self skipping out on one of the many pep rallies that her school held. She had slipped out of the packed gymnasium without being noticed, and had somehow found herself leaned up against a wall, a disgusting cancer stick perched between her perfectly shaped lips. It was getting repetitive and monotonous, and every day, the flickers faded from her eyes as she lost herself in droning thoughts of immortality, and how everything in her life had dramatically changed.

Caroline was frustrated. Her mind was on things that she would normally not give second thought about. She thought about Matt, about how much she wanted to break down and tell him everything. She thought about Tyler; he had gone missing without so much as a goodbye, leaving his mother with a mere note. She thought about Stefan and Elena, and how they would never truly have a happy ending. She thought about Katherine, and felt sorry for her, realizing just how tragic the entire situation was for her. And she thought about _Damon,_ reminiscing on events that had unfolded when she awoke that morning.

She had, _once again_, woken up to find a half naked, smirking Damon Salvatore in her bedroom, wearing nothing but her bright orange towel around his waist. She remembered the events of the previous night, and had there been blood still coursing through her veins, she knew that she would have flushed twelve different shades of red. Damon had pretended like there was nothing strange about the situation, reveling in the fact that it irked her. He had dressed himself, and Caroline had stared, too shocked to say or do anything, only breaking out of her daze when Damon was suddenly in her face.

_"You might want to get cleaned up, before your mommy-dearest gets home," _he had said, his fingers finding their way into her soiled hair. _"Blondie." _He had pressed his lips firmly against hers, and all too quickly, he was gone, leaving her alone in her disaster of a room.

Caroline sighed softly to herself as she brought the cigarette back up to her lips. She exhaled the smoke from her lungs and watched with a bored interest as the smoke mixed with the cold air of the afternoon. Somehow, Caroline thought she should feel more guilty than she did. Did sleeping with Damon mean she was cheating on Matt? They weren't technically together anymore, right? And she only felt slightly guilty about the whole ordeal.

She was more disappointed and frustrated with herself. How she had ended up in bed with _Damon Salvatore_ again was beyond her, especially after the terrible relationship they had shared in the past. And yet, somewhere in the back of her booze-laced mind, she had found it a good idea to invite him, once again, to her bed. She was too tempted by the thought of being in contact with another person. It had been far too long since she had been able to release any of her frustrations on something, or rather, someone that wanted just as much from her as she wanted from them. _Nothing._ Merely sex, just for the hell of it. Although, choosing Damon as her release definitely wasn't the smartest decision she had made.

"Ms. Forbes!"

She found herself wondering what had possessed her to allow him to play her again, but more than that, she wondered why Damon had gone along with the whole thing. Did that mean he wanted her again-?

"Ms. Forbes!"

She dropped the cigarette that was resting loosely between her fingers, looking up at the source of the voice, startled.

"What do you think you are doing, Ms. Forbes? You are supposed to be inside." a stout, rather old looking teacher stated, making her way over to where Caroline was standing. "And what's this? Are you smoking, Ms. Forbes?" Caroline rolled her eyes.

"Of course not, Mrs. Williams. Smoking is a disgusting habit. Surely you don't think that _I_ could do something that repulsive." Caroline said, sarcasm biting her every word. The short teacher gave her a strange look, but before she could say anything more, Caroline's hands were planted firmly on the others shoulders, her icy blue gaze concentrated on the elder woman's. "You are going to go back inside," Caroline said monotonously. "You came outside for some fresh air, and saw no one. And then you went back inside. You never saw me. Understand?" After earning a nod from the other woman, Caroline scoffed, shooing the teacher away, and without another word, the older woman went in the same direction she had come from.

It was only then that Caroline realized that she had been too absorbed in her thoughts of Damon, that she didn't even notice the teacher approaching her. Damon didn't deserve her time, she thought to herself angrily. She didn't need any more distractions. _Damon_ was a mistake, a mistake that was never going to happen again.

"Caroline? What are you doing out here?" another familiar voice met with her ears. Caroline sighed, wondering why everyone couldn't just leave her be.

"Bonnie." She said, looking toward the witch and giving her a small smile. She watched as the other woman walked toward her, stopping next to her and leaning against the same wall she was still perched against. "What are _you_ doing out here?" she questioned back.

Bonnie merely shrugged, hugging her jacket tighter around her body when the cold wind began to pick up again. "Just needed some air," she paused a moment. "What's on your mind, Care?"

"What makes you think I have something on my mind?" she replied, trying to sound casual.

"Well first," Bonnie looked toward her, holding up a finger. "There's a pep rally going on right now, and yet here you are, skipping out on it. You live for that kind of stuff." Caroline mentally smacked herself. "Second," another finger was held up. "You _always _have something on your mind. And third," a third finger followed. "You're smoking. I know you well enough to know that you only smoke when something's bothering you."

Caroline was shocked that Bonnie actually knew that she smoked, but said nothing. She shoved her hands into the pockets of her jacket, focusing her gaze on the ground before sighing deeply.

"It's something big, isn't it?" Bonnie asked, intrigued that Caroline hadn't already blabbed to her about it, considering that Caroline could never usually keep anything to herself.

Caroline let out another sigh. "Maybe."

Bonnie crossed her arms over her chest, preparing to get comfortable. "Well, spill it. You completely ignore Elena and me for an entire day, then you show up all broody. What's up?"

Caroline frowned and continued to stare at the ground. "Damon showed up at my house yesterday." Caroline reached up, rubbing her temples and shutting her eyes.

"Okay, I'll bite." Bonnie said, wondering where Caroline was going with this story. "Do go on."

"Well, we were drinking and talking. And just, I don't know. We got into a fight."

"There's something you're not telling me."

Caroline shrugged. "It's not important."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "You never only tell part of the story. That means it's important."

Caroline ran a hand through her hair and glanced nervously at the brunette. "Promise you won't flip out at me?"

"Care, what did you do?" Bonnie asked, narrowing her eyes at Caroline.

"Damon-and-I-had-sex!" she rushed out quickly.

Bonnie's mouth fell open. "You did what?"

"I was drinking, and then he showed up. We got mad at each other, and we got into a fight. Literally. One minute we were beating the crap out of each other, and the next we were ripping each other's clothes off and making out and-"

"Okay, okay! I get it!" Bonnie said, halting the blonde's words before she could get any further. "Care, what were you thinking?"

Caroline growled, becoming even more frustrated with herself. "I don't know! I didn't know what else to do. All I know is that whenever I'm around him, he makes me so angry! And I can't control myself, it's like I have no self-restraint."

Bonnie blinked at her, seemingly not processing the information. "You had no self-restraint to begin with. But seriously, Care? _Damon_? You remember what he did to you! He tried to kill you. And he's _Damon. _He's-"

"I know, already!" Caroline interrupted, looking somewhat distraught. "I don't know that the hell I'm doing!"

"That much is obvious." Bonnie responded, her tone dripping with disappointed sarcasm.

"Don't look at me like that, Bon. No one's perfect. I messed up. He just...I don't know. It's not like it's going to happen again."

"Isn't that what you said the last time you guys broke up?" Bonnie sighed, clearly disappointed that Caroline's resolve to never mess with Damon Salvatore again had broken.

"I know, Bonnie! It was stupid. I was drunk. It's not going to happen again. Ever. You have to promise me that you won't tell _anyone!_ Especially Elena." she pleaded.

Bonnie sighed, turning toward the blonde and placing her hands on Caroline's shoulders. She knew Caroline too well. If she wanted to do something, there was no power on earth that could convince her otherwise. "I won't tell anyone." she began. "I just hope you know what you're doing. Damon's poison. I just don't want to see you get hurt again."

"I know, Bon. I can handle it. It's not going to happen. I have no desire to ever be with Damon Salvatore ever again." Caroline stated firmly, at the same time trying to reassure herself that she meant the words she was saying. She pulled Bonnie into a hug, slightly relieved that she had finally been able to talk to someone about the whole situation. Telling Elena was completely out of the question, and Caroline knew that she could trust Bonnie.

Now all she needed to do was avoid being alone with Damon at all costs. She couldn't risk another slip up.

...

There was something addicting about the alcohol, the sweat, the blaring music and blinding lights of the party that Caroline had come to love, which is where she found herself on that particular night. Another party thrown by some no-named fuck that Caroline could give two-shits about. The Grill had been top on her list of places to avoid, and Caroline needed to be around people, and alcohol, so she had wandered around Mystic Falls until she had found a party. But alas, all good things had to come to an end, and the blonde figured it was probably better to get out of the house before one of the neighbors phoned the police about noise.

Caroline couldn't understand why everything seemed to be going wrong. A couple days had passed since the whole incident with Damon, and she hadn't had a run-in with him since, so she assumed that they had an unspoken agreement to never speak of their tryst ever again. And just as things had started to seem normal again, or as normal as they could get, Matt had accused her of secretly being with Tyler, and had once again broken up with her. As devastated as she should have been, Caroline found it odd that it hadn't bothered her as much as it used to. She took it as a sign that she was slowly losing what remained of her humanity bit by bit.

She had always been good at pretending that everything was okay, at least around strangers and people who didn't know her. To an outsider, it would appear as if nothing had happened. To anyone who didn't know a thing, Caroline was just another blonde, continuing on with her life as if she had no worries in the world.

As if dealing with Matt hating her wasn't hard enough, she still hadn't heard a word from Tyler since he had left town, and although she would never admit it out loud, she was terribly worried about him. Caroline knew she shouldn't be so consumed in her own troubles, but her mind was in turmoil. She tried to act like nothing was bothering her when in all reality, she was continuously replaying the argument she had shared with Matt at The Grill in her mind's eye, and as much as she hated to think about it, the fact that Damon had acted like nothing had happened between them had slightly irked her.

She knew it was wrong, and it was probably better that he had just dropped the subject, but Caroline hadn't mastered the art of pretending like it never happened. It was still extremely awkward for her to be around Damon, and every time she saw him, or even thought about him, images from that night would flood her mind.

In truth, Caroline was disgusted with herself. There she was trying to fix things with Matt, the man she supposedly loved, and yet she was thinking about another. She was so disgusted that she could barely even look at herself in the mirror, let alone breathe, think, move or talk without thinking about Damon.

She had been so blinded by lust and fury that she hadn't realized what she was doing. It was like Damon rid her of all sanity and control. She was an even bigger chaotic mess around the enigmatic vampire and she couldn't figure out why.

The question of why had kept her up the past couple nights, tossing and turning, rolling around the different reasons in her mind as to why Damon affected her so strongly. She had paced the floor for hours, wondering why, in the midst of her drama with Matt, she couldn't get her mind off Damon. She wondered if it had anything to do with him being her "maker", she wondered if it was because she had his blood running through her veins.

She felt so pathetic. So weak. She was ashamed of herself, and she hated it. And so she got chose to bury her sorrows in alcohol.

She ended up outside, somewhere in the back garden of the house, a cigarette between her lips as she watched a couple drunken teens stumble out into the streets. Yeah, someone was definitely going to call the cops soon and the last thing she needed was getting caught at a party full of underage drunkies by her mother. So far, she'd been able to avoid any uncomfortable fights with her. Probably because she had been avoiding any contact with her, and she intended to keep it that way.

Caroline sighed and pushed another drunken teen out of her path, eying her own cup of beer warily and wondering if anyone had dropped anything into it when she was turned away. She swore she didn't drink _that_ much, but she was definitely feeling hazy, stumbling slightly as continued to walk, trying her best to keep her composure.

She ignored some too-drunk jock that whistled at her, telling her that he could show her a good time, and she shook her head, laughing quietly to herself. She pitied the out of town parents to whatever kid had thrown this bash. They'd come home to cum-stained sheets and beer drenched carpets. Not to mention the vase that a guy had just broken by attempting to throw it to another guy and completely overshooting it, landing it in a shattered mess on the concrete. Yeah, it was about time to ditch this party.

Rolling her eyes at the idiocy of it all, Caroline wandered further into the rather large backyard, realizing that it had somehow become the woods that she had been spending quite a bit of her time in. She wondered why she had even gone to the party in the first place and when she stumbled over a protruding tree root, she laughed at herself, remembering that she had wanted to get drunk, and since she had finished her mother's stash, she needed to get it from someplace else. Caroline veered around a particularly large tree, stopping dead in her tracks when she heard a low moan. She peered into the darkness, focusing her eyes on the shadowy mass that was currently pushed up against a tree.

And just like that, there was the one person that seemed to be the root of all her problems in a rather compromising position. There was the boy she had been hating for the past couple days with a passion, and he was with another woman. Even through her drunken haze and the darkness, Caroline could still see that Damon Salvatore was shamelessly fucking in the middle of the woods. She knew he had to have heard someone coming, and yet, he continued to thrust mercilessly into the woman beneath him, penetrating her over and over again. In the next instance, he looked in her direction, and their eyes locked. It took Damon a second to realize that he wasn't imagining things and that this was, in fact, Caroline standing just a few feet away, the same girl who made his blood boil without even having to say anything.

Caroline couldn't seem to move as Damon stared at her, his eyes dark, lust clearly filling them. He narrowed his eyes at her and thrust particularly hard, causing the woman beneath him to cry out and Caroline glances down at the unknown woman before flicking her eyes back up to Damon's face. His face was seemingly flushed, and his eyes were half-lidded, and Caroline saw that damn smirk pressed across that infuriating mouth of his, but for some reason, she couldn't tear her eyes away from his. She watched as the woman beneath him screamed out, Damon's hips stilling as he let his head fall back, moaning as he came, lewdly squeezing the woman's breast before he pulled out of her, tossing the condom he had used somewhere in the dirt.

The unknown woman hadn't noticed Caroline, watching them with dark eyes as they both situated themselves, straightening out their now displaced clothing. She watched as Damon pushed the drunk girl away from him, and she made a sound of protest, but he whispered something in her ear, and in the next moment, she gave him an understanding nod and walked back towards the party, and then Damon's eyes were once again fixed on Caroline's.

Caroline scowled as she looked down at the amber tip of the glowing cigarette between her lips, contemplating whether or not she should stub it out on Damon's face. "Feeding on innocent teens again, Damon?" she asked instead, feigning disinterest as she dropped the cigarette to the ground, stubbing it out with her high-heeled foot.

"What's it to you, blondie?" He asked, pushing himself off the tree he was resting against, and slowly sauntered toward the blonde. It was easy to see that he was just as drunk as she was. And when Damon gave her a once-over, seemingly nodding in approval of her rather revealing attire, Caroline tried to hide her discomfort. "Jealous?"

Caroline rolled her eyes. "Oh please. Don't be stupid." She replied as calmly as she could. Caroline rarely ever felt nervous around a guy, but she hadn't been alone with Damon ever since that night, and she found herself wishing she hadn't wandered out into the woods by herself. She found herself wanting to run away from him, but she stood her ground, not wanting to show her weakness to Damon. Caroline was no pushover, and she wanted to make sure Damon knew it.

Damon laughed, enjoying how she seemed to take small steps back as he got closer. He shrugged his shoulders, shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his pants before he took another step towards Caroline until he was standing directly in front of her. "What are _you_ doing here, barbie?" He teased, taking notice of the disappointed look on her face. "You seem to be taking up a really nasty habit of drowning your sorrows in cigarettes and alcohol. Boy toy ignoring you again?" Caroline bit her lip in an attempt to silence the smart retort she had planned on shooting his way, and instead remained quiet. "Or did you miss me so much that you followed me here?"

Caroline's mouth fell open a little, he never failed to surprise her with how arrogant he was. "You're ridiculous. Like I would ever miss you." She made a move back to turn away from him, deciding that it was better for her to escape now before it was too late and she was once again caught in his web. It always amazed her how he seemed to know exactly where she was trying to go, and once again, like so many times before, he had used his supernatural power to situate himself in front of her, his arms wrapping around her waist, holding her body still against his own.

She could smell the alcohol on his breath, and the faint smell of woman's perfume emanating from his clothes, and for some reason, the mixed smells made her stomach turn. "Caroline, I'm hurt." he whispered against her ear, his warm breath sending chills down her spine. "I thought our relationship meant more to you. Especially after everything we shared together the other night." Caroline's eyes immediately snapped up and met his own.

"That night was biggest mistake I've ever made in my entire life. And I'm going to be sure that it never happens again. And you, Damon, need to stay the hell away from me, understand?" As soon as the last word left her lips, Caroline immediately regretted the tone she had used and her choice of words. Damon's anger had flared up in that instant, and before Caroline could manage to get another word out, Damon had spun her around, holding her steady as she stumbled over her own feet. She bit her lip again, hard enough to draw blood when Damon's hands were suddenly all over her body all at once.

"Why must you always say something to piss me off, Caroline?" he practically hissed into her ear.

"What are you doing?" she whispered, her eyes closing when she felt his lips pressing slightly against the tip of her ear. Her body felt heavy, and she let out a small, shaky exhale, trying to control her body from pressing further into his, but that didn't stop the violent shudder that ran through her body. She didn't want to think about what Damon's touch did to her, and she tried to repeatedly tell herself that she was just drunk.

There was no denying that Caroline liked when Damon played rough, but she fought off the urge to enjoy the feeling of Damon's body against her own, trying to remember that he had literally just fucked another woman mere moments before. "You're right. That night was a huge mistake." he spat out. "I just needed a release." It made his blood rush faster, causing her pain, whether it was physical or emotional. He was growing weary of Caroline's attitude, and just like the other night, he wanted nothing more than to break her. "Good thing you're so willing to spread your legs for everyone."

"Damon," she warned him weakly. "Let go of me." She knew that Damon was just trying to push her buttons, and she'd be damned if she let him win again. Damon leaned down and did all he could think to do. He bit Caroline's neck-hard enough to draw blood-and smirked when he heard a pained moan from the other.

"You're pathetic, Caroline. You sleep with every guy that shows you any kind of attention." He knew that was a risky think to say-a challenge-but it slipped out of his lips in a heated rush before he could stop it. Now it was time to gauge Caroline's reaction.

It was odd but familiar, the sensation of having his teeth in her neck. The party seemed so far away, the voices and music quiet, and even the chill of the night didn't seem to be there as the Damon's breath fanned over her skin. The feeling made goosbumps run over her in an instant, her vision swimming for a moment.

"I'll kill you," Her voice shook, feeling slightly defensive and entirely confused as to why Damon received so much joy out of hurting her. "I'll fucking kill you, you son of a bi-ahhh!"

And then there was a hand on the inside of her thigh, pulling her legs further apart, fingers running teasingly over the soft flesh.

"What the fuck are you doing?" she gasped, her hips twitching against her own will.

"Shut up," Damon snapped, his hand continuing its journey up the length of her thigh and underneath the fabric of her dress. Caroline gasped as she felt Damon's hand touching her, shutting her eyes tightly, her own hands coming to rest on top of Damon's in an attempt to stop his ministrations.

She couldn't understand how she had managed to get herself into this position once again, completely at Damon's disposal. This had to be some kind of cruel joke, or a dream.

Then there were lips pressing against her neck again, kissing, licking, and nipping at the flesh. Damon's hot breath came out in wet puffs against her skin, and then his fingers were practically ripping her panties to the side, and much like the last time they had done this, as Damon sank his fangs into her neck, he slid two fingers inside of her, pumping in and out with precise, languid strokes.

Caroline couldn't hold back her moans as Damon moved his fingers inside of her, slowly and maddeningly. Her head pushed back into his shoulder forcefully, mouth open slightly in a silent gasp as she whined and pushed against Damon's hand. Her fingers gripped around Damon's wrists and her eyes screwed shut, trying to block out the fact that it was Damon that was doing this to her. It was Damon's lips that were against her neck, Damon's fingers that were doing amazing things to her, and it was Damon's hard cock that was pressing against her ass.

Without thinking, Caroline reached a hand behind her and rubbed over the fabric of Damon's jeans. She heard a sharp intake of breath and then her hand was removed quickly and held stationary around her waist. Damon's face pressed against her neck against and he began to move his hand faster.

Caroline's confusion as to why Damon didn't let her touch him didn't last long as he sped up the thrusting of his fingers, sliding into her with practiced ease and bringing her closer and closer to release with each pump. Her moans became louder, but she couldn't bring herself to care that she was currently indecently exposed. Damon could hear the music and voices of the party not too far away, but he pushed the sounds aside and listened closely for her moans, wanting to hear how affected she was by the current situation.

When Damon's thumb found her clit, she hissed through clenched teeth, feeling the familiar pressure building in her stomach. "Fuck, I'm gonna..." Her face flushed and contorted in pleasure when she came, her breathing heavy and she once again bit her already bruised lip hard, drawing blood. Damon's hand milked every last second of her orgasm, stroking her sensitive clit until she slumped against him, boneless and exhausted.

Damon then pulled his hand from underneath her dress and forced two fingers into the blonde's mouth, and she whimpered, her tongue reflexively licking at the digits, tasting her own essence on the salty skin. She heard Damon groan, obviously affected her actions, and then the fingers were ripped from her mouth, his hand cupping her jaw, turning her head back enough to press his lips against hers, his tongue forcing its way into her mouth as he seemingly tried to suck the life out of her.

When Damon pulled away, he stared into Caroline's eyes for one intense, nonspeaking moment, finally, he looked away, releasing her from his tight hold. She stumbled for a moment, but managed to right herself, straightening out her clothes hastily before she turned to glare at Damon, eyes narrowed. "I hate you." she said, her voice coming out barely above a whisper. He said nothing, and Caroline could see the satisfaction of victory gleaming in his eyes, and she couldn't decide if she was more angry or embarrassed in that moment.

She inwardly cursed at herself. Why did she allow Damon to play these games with her?

A/N: So this chapter was really hard for me to write. Considering that I changed the storyline about twenty different times. Still trying to figure out what's going where, and how to match it with the series. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. And I'll try to update as soon as possible! LOVE.


	5. Poison & Wine

A/N: I'm really bad at updating. I'm trying though! For now, enjoy this somewhat-of-a-filler chapter. :]

Caroline moaned loudly as Damon's tongue ran down the length of her body, lavishing her flushed skin, already feverish with arousal, with more attention. Damon was skilled with his tongue, letting it trail across her torso, finding ever curve, dip, and contour and working it expertly. His hands were trailing up and down the sides of her body, as his tongue ran down the expanse of her stomach, dipping into her belly button but going no further.

Caroline gasped under his ministrations, her breathing harsh and ragged. Damon slid back up her body, looking down at the blonde with a wicked smile on his face. The mischief running through his crystal blue eyes made her shiver, groaning in anticipation of whatever the other vampire had in store for her.

With another smoldering look from behind his disheveled hair that tumbled into Damon's eyes, he bowed his head again, redirecting his attention to her body, which was now almost trembling with arousal. He leaned down and caught one of Caroline's nipple in his mouth, biting down almost hard enough to be painful, and Caroline groaned, snaking her hand around Damon's neck and arching up into him. She was rewarded with another nibble, this one gentler than the first.

Her hand tangling in Damon's dark hair, she gasped again as he began kissing almost affectionately across her chest to reach her other nipple, giving it the same treatment as the first. She was still trembling under Damon's skillful tongue and fingers as he moved to lie completely atop her, letting her feel his obvious arousal from their position.

Both of them were breathing raggedly, their mouths mere centimeterd from each others. Caroline could nearly feel his lips against hers, could feel each exhale as if it were the presence of flesh against her own. Damon's eyes flashed with a desire so strong that Caroline nearly felt herself melting into those almost unnaturally blue orbs, felt Damon's arousal somehow adding to her own, making everything more intense than it already was. Damon's hands were clenched tightly against her hips, the tension clearly having an effect on him.

When Damon's lips finally came down to meet to blonde's, it was pure ecstasy for her, a mixed feeling of both almost losing her breath and finally being able to breathe for the first time in her life. Damon's kiss energized her, lips plush and pliant with her own. Damon took control of the kiss immediately, and Caroline closed her eyes, winding her arm all the way around his neck as his tongue ran across her lips, silently willing Caroline to part them for him.

Caroline did with no hesitation, letting Damon's tongue slide into her mouth. The kiss was deep, wet, warm, and so wonderful that it had her groaning into his mouth. This only seemed to add to Damon's arousal and he moved his body in a practiced manner against the woman beneath him, eliciting a real moan this time, so deep and throaty that she actually had to pull their mouths apart in order to breathe.

Damon's eyes locked with hers again, and Caroline could see exactly what Damon wanted. And she couldn't deny that she wanted it just as badly as he did.

"Damon," she rasped out, her voice barely more than a low, breathy whisper. "I want you inside of me."

Damon's eyes, trained so intensely on her own, lit up, and a slow smile came to his face. Damon's hand trailed along the delicate skin of her cheek in an almost tender way, opening his mouth to say something...

...and then Caroline felt her body jerk, awakening her from her slumber, her body tangled in sweat-soaked sheets and her breathing elevated almost to the point that she was hyperventilating. She slowly opened one eye, and took a moment to realize that she was indeed in her own room, in her own bed, fully clothed, and completely alone. Caroline took a deep breath, almost sighing in relief, before clinging to her blankets, willing her body to calm down from the rather explicit dream she had just had about Damon.

She was exhausted, and even though she didn't technically need sleep, Caroline had made a habit of actually getting sleep, and she had spent the night prior tossing and turning in bed, praying that she would fall asleep, trying to keep a certain dark-haired vampire from plaguing her thoughts. She absolutely did not want to get out of bed, but she knew it was getting around that time that her alarm clock would go off, and she would have to wake up for the day.

Caroline snuggled herself further into her comforter stubbornly, refusing to reach over to her nightstand and check her phone to see what time it was. She wouldn't do it. After a couple more minutes and refusing to come back to reality she found herself wondering why her alarm hadn't gone off yet. Her internal clock said that it was time to wake up by now. Time to be up and ready, up and out of bed, and on her way to complete the tasks she had planned for the day. With a small pout, she pulled the blankets back far enough to reach her hand blindly toward the nightstand, grabbing at her cellphone, and when she finally saw the time, she made a sound that suspiciously sounded like a cross between a gasp of surprise and a silent weep.

She was late, and she hadn't even gotten out of bed yet.

...

Stefan Salvatore looked up from his cup of coffee as he saw Caroline rushing in the front door of the coffee shop, smiling in amusement as she bumped into a couple on the way inside. Stefan chuckled behind his hand as he watch her hurriedly apologize to them, his face settling into a gentle smile because it was just like Caroline to be so completely unaware of her surroundings when she was too absorbed in her thoughts, and with one look at his watch, Stefan had a pretty good idea what she was focused on.

He and Caroline had made plans earlier that day to meet for coffee, and they'd planned for a time that was exactly twenty-three minutes before what his watch read at the exact moment she had stumbled through the door. Stefan assumed that she was rushing because she was terribly late.

Stefan waited patiently for a few moments as Caroline scanned the cafe, trying to spot him. When she did, her face lit up a little and she smiled at him, walking in a brisk pace across the floor to his table, clutching her large purse to her body tightly. As Caroline got closer, he could tell that she was a little flushed, and he wondered if she had run to the cafe. It was also very much like Caroline to lose track of time, but nevertheless, he grinned back as she slid into the chair opposite him.

"Sorry I'm late, Stefan," she apologize before he could even get a greeting in. Caroline's words were punctuated with harsh breaths, and it seemed more and more likely that she had run a little in order to get there. Stefan quirked an eyebrow at her, wondering what she could have possibly been doing that she was late for a meeting that she, herself, had arranged.

"Don't worry, you'll live to regret it," Stefan said with a grin on his face, one that made Caroline pause for a second and look at him with wide eyes. When he saw the expression on her face, he chuckled quietly. "I'm kidding. I drank a whole cup of coffee while I was waiting for you. This is my second."

Caroline rolled her eyes, smiling back at him. "Well, it's not my fault you drank a whole cup already."

"And by the way, this is actually your coffee," Stefan told her, holding up the cup he was currently nursing. "I ordered you one when I got here, but since you were late, I decided to drink it myself before it got cold and went to waste."

Caroline glared at him in feigned irritation, before she stuck her tongue out at him. "Well, I'm going to go get a new cup, then, since someone decided to drink mine." Her voice dripping with sarcasm. Stefan just smiled at her as she stood up and made her way to the counter to order her own coffee. Caroline had caught her breath in the short minute she had been sitting at the table and didn't seem so flushed anymore. Stefan took another sip of his coffee and sat back in his chair, watching Caroline order from across the cafe, wondering why she had suddenly called him out of the blue to "talk".

It only took a few minutes before Caroline was back with her coffee, and she plopped down in the chair across from Stefan again, settling back into it comfotably and sipping her drink. Caroline took a moment to completely relax herself, and Stefan watched as a look of relief seemed to rush over her face. He had taken notice that she had seemed a bit off lately, almost worried, but he hadn't pushed the issue yet. In the time he had known Caroline, he had known her to go through some pretty dramatic mood changes as time passed, and he had figure that this would pass, but he could tell that something was seriously bothering her.

"So, do you want to tell me why you were so late?" Stefan asked, still trying to keep the conversation light, thought part of him was hoping that she would just break down and tell him what was going on with her. Stefan couldn't help the almost overpowering urge to want to help her, he had always been extremely protective of her, especially since she had been turned, and in the time he had known her, no matter how crazy, and neurotic she could be, he had grown to care about Caroline a great deal.

Caroline sighed, making a little groaning sound that she always made before she was about to complain about something, and Stefan smiled, sitting back in his chair, preparing himself for the onslaught of Caroline's problems.

"We had cheer practice today, and I totally lost track of time because our new captain was being a total practice-Nazi," she said, and Stefan raised his eyebrows at her choice of words, laughing slightly.

"Practice-Nazi?" He asked between chuckles, and Caroline made another face at him.

"What?" She demanded, obviously not seeing anything wrong with her choice of words. "She was. She wanted to practice over and over until we got _everything_ absolutely perfect every single time, and I don't even understand why, it's not like we have any events coming up any time soon!" Her voice sped up with the last couple of words, as if she was eager to explain her reasoning. "And I swear, none of us were actually making any mistakes; she was just nitpicking. If that doesn't make her a practice-Nazi, then I don't know what does. I was nothing like that when I was captain!"

Stefan laughed again, and he eyed Caroline with a slight glint in his eye. "You are a very unique person, you know that right?" he inquired after a moment with an amused grinned. She merely rolled her eyes.

"I can recognize when a person is calling me weird, Stefan. You can just say it." Caroline insisted, sounding slightly exasperated beneath her amusement. Stefan just continued to smile at her.

"So why aren't you captain anymore?" He asked after a moment, and Caroline shrugged her shoulders in reply.

Stefan decided not to push the issue, since he knew that Caroline had had to make a lot of changes when she had been turned and it was still a rather sensitive subject for her. Instead, he decided to change the subject, deeming it a good time to breach the topic of why Caroline had been so upset and why she had called him. "Then can I ask you what's on your mind?" He asked, phrasing his question carefully so as to not seem like he was prying.

Caroline's gaze shot up from his coffee almost suspiciously, her eyes searching Stefan's face carefully for some indication of something, Stefan wasn't exactly sure what, but he was certainly surprised by her reaction to his question. All of the sudden, Caroline seemed nervous, almost like she was ready to run away at any moment, should the need arise. Stefan furrowed his eyebrows, waiting for a verbal response of her.

"Why does everyone think I have something on my mind?" she asked, thinking back to the conversation she had previously shared with Bonnie. There were times that Caroline hated being so transparent to her friends, and this was one of those times. She shifted in her chair under Stefan's steady gaze, tugging nervously at the collar of her jacket and biting her lip. Now Stefan was genuinely worried, and he shot her a look.

"You've been acting different lately." he began, hoping that his explanation would get her to open up. "You seem really stressed out about something." he continued before he took another sip of his coffee. Caroline crossed her arms over her chest in a protective manner, but after a short moment, she sighed audibly, shaking her head.

"Okay," she began. "Let's say I have this friend,"

"Is this going to be one of those 'I have this friend who is really me but I don't want to admit it's me' stories?" Stefan interrupted, raising his eyebrows.

Caroline rolled her eyes again. "Will you just let me finish?" she snapped, and Stefan held up his hands defensively, staying silent and allowing her to continue. Caroline smiled triumphantly and continued, "Okay, I have this friend, and let's just say that she dated this guy back in the day, but their relationship suffered a horrendously, terrible and dramatic ending," She sounded slightly apprehensive and already a little reluctant to continue.

"Boy troubles? Caroline, I don't think-" Stefan couldn't stop himself from interrupting her again, confused as to why Caroline would choose him, of all people, to confide in when it came to boy problems. He figured that this subject would be more fitting for one of her _girl_ friends.

"No, wait," she cut him off, almost as if she knew what he was going to say. "Just let me finish, please." she almost pleaded with him, a small, but noticeable pout gracing her lips.

Stefan sighed, but nodded. "Right, sorry," he apologized, raising his hands in defeat. "Dramatic ending. Please, continue." he gestured to her.

"Anyway," she started again, taking a quick sip of her coffee before she continued. "This guy she dated, he's totally and completely in love with this other girl," she said, her gaze suddenly focused down into her cup. "And my friend, she knows that he loves this other girl. But one night, they ended up getting drunk together, and..." her voice trailed off slightly.

Stefan nodded slowly, taking in the information. "I think I know where this story is going," he said, and Caroline bit her lip nervously and nodded.

"Well, my friend, she's sort of confused as to why the whole thing happened. Because, well, she _hates_ him. Really, she just doesn't like him at all. But for some reason, she couldn't stop herself, you know? It was like she couldn't say no to him, which she's really pissed off about." Caroline's eyebrows furrowed, seemingly becoming more frustrated than she already was. "It sort of happened again, which sucks!" she spat, exasperated. "Well, it wasn't exactly hooking up that time. Either way, he still took advantage of her, right?" Stefan watched in amusement as Caroline's facial expressions drastically changed between her sentences, trying to stifle the smile that was threatening to break out on his lips. "God, I probably sound like an idiot," she shook her head, then took another sip of her coffee.

Caroline absently picked at the rim of her cup, avoiding Stefan's gaze, scared that he would be able to piece what she was talking about together, but silently hoping that he would at the same time. "So," he began. "Are you going to tell me what's really going on?" he inquired. Caroline had seen this coming, considering that Stefan was rather curious when it came to situations that troubled her.

"It's nothing," she replied pointedly, wavering on her initial plan to tell Stefan everything. What if he reacted badly and yelled at her? That would be terrible, and highly embarrassing.

"It's never nothing when you need to talk to me, Caroline. Either you really have an issue, or you're trying to distract me from something. And I really don't think you're trying to distract me, so spill it. Honestly." Stefan said, taking a large sip of his now rapidly cooling coffee. He regarded the blonde with a calm eye, one that made her incredibly nervous. Caroline sighed, dropping her cup on the table and sitting back. She closed her eyes for a second, trying to build up the courage to tell Stefan the truth, before opening them again to look Stefan in the eye.

"I slept with Damon," she admitted slowly, biting her lip nervously. She didn't seem aware of her motions; she never did, but Stefan was well aware that it was one of her nervous habits. "He's the ex-boyfriend. And I slept with him again."

Stefan said nothing, merely looking across the table at her and raising an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue speaking. Caroline gave another deep sigh. "I don't know, he came over and we started arguing, and I kind of punched him in the face," she paused, noticing the tiny smile that Stefan let slip, obviously amused that she had punched his brother. "And then we had sex. Weird, I know. But it happened. And now I'm extremely pissed off at myself, _and_ to make matters worse, I'm having..." she paused again, leaning in closer to Stefan, bringing one hand up to cup her mouth. "_Sex dreams _about him," she whispered, before straightening herself out again. She opened her mouth to speak again, but closed it abruptly, as if rethinking it, and her face flushed. Caroline was by no means shy, and Stefan had never seen her blush so much in all the time he had known her.

Stefan took a deep breath, finally finding words. "Well, that certainly answers my question about why Damon has been acting weird as well." Caroline looked at him with wide eyes, blinking her eyes at him in a confused manner. "Well, what did it mean to you?" he asked again after a long moment of silence, and she watched as Caroline squirmed uncomfotably under his intense gaze.

She was initially taken aback by Stefan's question, as she had been fully expecting him to jump at any opportunity to tell her to stay away from his brother. "I...I don't know?" She almost questioned herself. "Nothing initially, I guess. I kind of just dismissed it as something that just happened because we were both drunk. I guess the whole thing is just taking me off guard. I mean, why, after all this time, is he messing with me again?"

They lapsed into silence again, Stefan seeming to mull over her words. "And what do you think now?" He asked finally. The coffee cups in front of them lay cooling, forgotten, and any pretense of "getting a cup of coffee" had been abandoned the moment the conversation had seriously begun. "Obviously it wasn't nothing, or else you wouldn't have called me."

"I don't really know if it is anything. I've been so...annoyed? Confused? I don't even know. I just really needed to talk to someone about it, and I couldn't exactly talk to Elena about it because we both know that she'd rip my head off for sleeping with Damon again, and well, Bonnie knows, but she just got all judgey and started yelling at me." she paused for a moment. "I'm sorry I called you, I just...couldn't really think of anyone else to call." she shrugged.

A genuine smile graced Stefan's lips, "Caroline, I'm not the best at giving 'relationship' advice, but you know how Damon is. If it's really bothering you this much, talk to _him_ about it, or don't. Tell him to fuck off, he probably deserves it." Stefan shrugged his shoulders, and for the first since they had started talking about the issue, Caroline actually smiled.

"You're such a dork, Stefan. You really do suck at this." She said, placing her other hand over Stefan's and patting it. "I just really needed someone to tell that wasn't going to yell at me." Caroline knew it was a risk, asking for Stefan's advice, considering that she was talking about his own brother, but Stefan had always been the sensible one, and she could always count on him to think things through in a completely third-person perspective, no emotions or feelings attached. Plus, he had a knack for calming her down, which she greatly appreciated.

There was a high-pitched trilling noise, and Caroline slipped her hands away from Stefan's and immediately began to rummage through her purse for her cell phone, knowing that she had just received a text message from someone. Upon retrieving her phone, she clicked a few buttons, opening the message.

_'Need to talk now. Katherine is here.' _She read with wide eyes. Since when had Katherine been out of the tomb? Caroline shook her head again, once again realizing that she had been so caught up in her own issues that she had practically been ignoring everyone else.

"Is everything okay?" Stefan inquired.

"Katherine's out of the tomb?" she asked incredulously. "When the hell did that happen?"

"Ah," Stefan leaned back in his chair. "Elena." he stated knowingly. "Yeah, it's a pretty recent discovery." he explained, running a hand through his hair. "Long story short, now that Elijah's dead, his compulsion wore off, and now, she's out. Elena's not too happy that she stuck around. She's actually at the house with Damon right now."

"Oh, right." Her reply was simple, holding as little emotion as she could manage after hearing that Damon was with Katherine again. "Well, I hate to bail, since I was the one that called you out here. But best friend duty calls." She smiled brightly, before rising from her seat, and Stefan, being the gentleman he was, rose as well. Caroline practically tackled him with a hug, and Stefan let out a small yelp. "You're the best, Stefan. Seriously."

Stefan reciprocated the blonde's hug, and laughed a little, patting her on the head. Caroline extricated herself from his arms, smiled again, and then she had turned around and was walking toward the exit of the cafe. She thought that maybe, dealing with Elena's problems would help her forget about a certain dark-haired vampire, and she could finally concentrate on something else.

Damon Salvatore would be the least of her problems. Or at least, she hoped so.

A/N: Sorry for the filler chapter, I just needed to get something out there. Don't worry! There will be more Damon/Caroline action next chapter! Reviews are love. 3


	6. Addicted to Bad Decisions

A/N: Well, here's another update! Thank you guys so much for all the support! You guys are awesome. Here's more Damon/Caroline action! Enjoy!

Caroline had already been halfway home when she realized that she was missing her purse.

She closed her eyes in irritation, immediately feeling like an idiot, she had been too concentrated on certain _other_ things that she had actually left her purse in her final class of the school day. She sighed to herself before she made a u-turn and began to drive grumpily back to her school. Truthfully, she had been distracted all day, and had barely been paying attention to Alaric sprouting something or another about the Civil War, so she wasn't completely surprised that she had forgotten.

Caroline winced in distaste as the memories of the past couple days rose up through her mind once again, taunting her and aggravating her. As if being increasingly surrounded by couples wasn't bad enough, now that Bonnie and Jeremy had gotten together, that day, she'd had the pleasure of being stuck next to Matt who had felt the need to be an even bigger asshole that afternoon, practically pretending that Caroline didn't even exist. He wouldn't even glance in her direction, his gaze remaining trained ahead of him.

Caroline exhaled sharply. After Jonas Martin had practically massacred The Grill, and it had been revealed to Matt that she was a vampire, she had been forced to accept that even after their rather short-lived reunion, Matt now blamed her for Vicki's death and all but said that he hated her. So, it was with a heavy heart that she had decided to grit her teeth, and suffer the entire day in silence when she was dying to speak to him. All she could do was secretly console herself with the hope that Matt would come to his senses and accept her for who she really was. It was just a matter of being a little patient, and although that wasn't one of Caroline's biggest strengths, she decided that it would all be worth it in the end. Besides, she had decided that she would give him a little pep talk to nudge him in the right direction.

She skipped up the stairs to her now mostly empty school, yanking the entrance doors open and hurrying down into the empty hallways. Her heeled boots echoed loudly in the silence as she made her way to her History classroom, quickening her pace as she realized how fast the evening was approaching. It was slightly awkward being at school when it was that empty, and she somehow felt as though she were intruding. As she reached the familiar classroom and tried to open the door, she was slightly annoyed to find that it was locked. She momentarily thought about finding a janitor or someone with a key, but instead, she decided that she had already wasted enough of her time, so she literally ripped the door open, swinging it open before stepping inside.

The classroom was just as dark as the rest of the school, however, much to her dismay, it wasn't quite as emtpy. It took her a moment to register the soft glow that dimly lit the surrounding space, giving new shapes to the shadows and breaking the illusion of solitude. She came to a wary stop halfway across the room as she finally saw the small lamp that had been left on, illuminating the dark figure that sat slouched over at the large desk in the back of the classroom. Discarded sheets of paper sat upon the desk, and a ringed notebook lay in front of the figure, his head bent over, reading over the scrawled handwriting. Caroline hesitated, caught off guard, but taking the sight of him in.

She couldn't help but notice the familiar way he reclined so effortlessly, even as his eyes were sharp and intent with concentration. She observed the creases that lined his black button-up shirt, sleeves rolled up and collar ever so slightly askew, and she wondered how long he had been here. His jacket lay slung over the back of the chair as he worked, one long leg propped up across his knee and there were stray strands of his dark hair falling over his forehead and brushing the tips of his eyelashes. Caroline stayed silent as she watched him, holding an internal debate with herself, unsure of how she should announce her presence, although she couldn't see how he didn't already know she was there.

It was an awkward decision that she was ultimately spared.

"Did you forget something, blondie?"

Caroline blinked at the sudden address before quickly berating herself for getting caught staring at him. He hadn't even spared her a glance, still frowning at the notes under his hand, his voice a strange blend of amusement and boredom. Finally straightening her stance, she arranged her features into a mask of composure and adopted a neutral tone in return. "My purse," she replied simply, swallowing down the slight twinge of embarrassment.

When she received no further conversation, she dismissed him with a shrug and continued on in her original direction, feeling slightly put out but not really sure why. Somehow, she always felt safer when he was ignoring her, yet it never failed to drive her crazy, and she found herself bitterly resenting him for it.

Relocating her desk at last, Caroline reached down and withdrew her purse from between the metal legs. Standing up again, and clutching the strap of her bag in one hand, she hesitated and glanced over once more to his corner with a soft frown. He was still working his way down the page in front of him, hand moving quickly and fingers clenched tight, perhaps leaning into his pen with a little more force than previously but otherwise, completely indifferent to her presence.

She sighed quietly to herself. After her coffee date with Stefan, things between her and Damon had been at a standstill, as she had limited her encounters with him. This was the first time she had been alone with him since that day in the woods, and he had gone from taunting her and teasing her to now completely ignoring her. She tried to not let it bother her, after all, she had enough problems to worry about other than Damon, but there was this nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach knowing that he was not remotely torn up about their predicament.

She let her gaze wander over the shadow of his profile, still so studiously examinging his notes with a concerted focus. There was no flicker of emotion on his features, nothing to grant an insight into the man behind the mask. Caroline had quickly come to realise that he wasn't the same guy she had known; if anything he was even harder to read now than he had been the first time he'd stepped into her life. Time had done funny things. They had both changed in ways neither could have anticipated and it had shifted the balance of their undefinable dynamic into new and uncertain territory.

"What are you even doing?" she asked at last as she walked down the same path she had taken to her desk, not really expecting a response.

"Hate to break it to you, but not all of us have time to play around with human boytoys. I'm trying to find another way to kill an Original," he deadpanned in reply.

Caroline felt herself scowling at the side of his head. He never resisted a chance to flaunt his arrogant superiority, and he never let her forget that he thought he was better than her.

He finally glanced over at her, casually meeting her gaze without a hint of guilt or apology. A shadow of a smile tugged his lips as he watched her clench her jaw and glare at hims irritably. He turned back to his notepad.

"Let me guess, you're still cranky about loverboy hating you for supposedly killing little Vicki."

Caroline rolled her eyes. She just stopped herself in time from sarcastically commenting, instead she pursed her lips stubbornly and turned her gaze away, towards the door. The last thing Caroline felt like talking about Matt and the depressing love story she was stuck in. In fact, Damon was the last person she wanted to be talking to at all.

"None of your business," she retorted sulkily.

Silence fell once more. She refused to look his way, even though she could feel him smiling at her obvious discomfort. Caroline gripped her bag tighter and wondered again why she hadn't left already.

"Isn't it about time you gave up on this futile infatuation? It's getting painful to witness." She stiffened as she heard him speak up at last, his voice as mild and unconcerned as if he were merely commenting on the weather. "Why are you holding out for someone who's made it very clear he doesn't want you anymore? Rather desperate, don't you think?"

Caroline felt her temper flaring in touchy indignation and turned around to shoot him a scornful look.A gesture that went unappreciated since the intended recipient of her glare didn't even bother to raise his head from his notes. His blatant and rude disregard was nothing she wasn't used to, but for some reason it was grating on her particularly hard tonight. His endless arrogance was utterly infuriating and it made her want to storm over and rip the wretched book from his hands. With some effort, Caroline forced herself to restrain the childish urge, suspecting that was exactly the kind of outburst he was trying to provoke.

"Is it any different to the vain hope you're still holding out for Elena?" she quipped in a withering tone.

Damon appeared completely unfazed by the pointed dig in her words, aggravating her further. "It might not be," he admitted calmly, an almost invisible touch of satisfaction lining his mouth as he once again raised his eyes to meet hers. "If it wasn't for all the stolen glances I've seen her cast my way when she thinks I'm not looking. I know you've noticed them too."

Caroline felt an angry and embarrassed flush rise to her cheeks and promptly opened her mouth to protest, but Damon ignored her reaction and didn't give her the opportunity to interrupt.

"That poor excuse of a human is hardly something worth fighting for anyway. Why don't you just move on and be done with it?" He leaned back and twirled his pen idly between his fingers, giving a small shrug. At her fuming silence, he smirked and carried on. "Do you even know why you want him back so much?"

Caroline held his eyes defiantly, unsure why she felt hte need to justify herself to Damon Salvatore of all people. "I love him," she replied firmly, laying as much emphasis as she could upon the simple words, mentally sighing as she wondered just how many more times she would have to reiterate this fundamental truth before he finally got it.

Damon was quiet as he watched her for a moment, quirking an eyebrow in private amusement. "If you say so."

"Would you just stop!" she suddenly snapped, all but throwing her bad aside in frustration, her fragile composure finally cracking under the pressure.

"Stop what?"

"This!" she exclaimed loudly, gesturing towards him accusingly. "Giving your opinions where they aren't wanted. Assuming that you have any idea of what exists between me and Matt or the strength of our connection. Acting as if you somehow know my feelings better than I do."

He let her rant for a minute before smoothly returning his attention to the page before him once more, a joyless smile shadowing his expression, tight and fleeting. "I know you better than he ever will."

Ignoring the growing flutter of unease in her body, Caroline stood her ground and scowled at him. "How the hell do you figure that?" she demanded through clenched teeth.

He looked up and caught her gaze, a consuming darkness in his eyes that seemed to pierce right through her, his lips curving with an unnerving threat. "Do you want me to prove it?"

Caroline faltered, thrown by the dangerous whisper of his teasing tone, the tilt of his mouth and unwavering challenge of his eyes. His gaze didn't flicker from hers and she felt something painfully hot burn through the pit of her stomach, a reckless fear and daring that was as tempting as it was terrifying. She quickly forced it down, suppressing the urge to see just how far she could push him, unwilling to call his bluff. She subconsciously took a step back, and he almost seemed amused at her reaction, and the thought did nothing to ease the tension in her muscles or taut ache of her nerves.

Caroline felt like she was on the verge of breaking apart, shattering into despair under the command of his whim all over again, and it scared her beyond thought and reason. She's had enough. She couldn't do this anymore.

"Why can't you just leave me alone?" she uttered desperately, not even attempting to control the shaking anger in her voice. "Just quit picking on me, and get out of my fucking life."

"And what?" he shot back with equal force, making her flinch as he abruptly rose to his feet in violent confrontation. His eyes narrowed scathingly, a jeering bitterness in his voice as he approached her. "Leave you to chase and fawn over Matt until he dies and leaves you here by yourself? Until, of course, you find another human and trail after him like a lovesick puppy that actually enjoys being repeatedly kicked in the face. Or wait, I forgot about the dog, the one that supposedly cared about you, and yet left you behind without even a word. Gee, I'm sorry. I didn't realize that I was keeping you from such rewarding relationships."

Caroline stared at him with a seething mixture of fury and disbelief, her words dripping with contempt. "Oh that's rich, coming from you. What makes you think you have any right to pass judgement on my life, let alone my history with Matt _or_ Tyler! Not after everything you did to me."

Damon eyed her, every line of his body rigid with restraint and all entirely too close for comfort. "You can cry victim all you want, but we both know that I wasn't the only one using someone in our 'relationship'."

"Is that right?" she demanded sarcastically even as she felt herself moving away, nervously retreating as Damon slowly back her across the room. Feeling a swell of panic wash over her, Caroline could do nothing but force herself to hold his gaze just as stubbornly.

A thin smile crossed his lips. "Stefan had just turned you down and you were pissed off that he picked Elena over you just like everyone else. You wanted to get even; you wanted to show everyone that you could get 'the other brother'." Damon gave a stiff shrug, though his demeanor was anything but indifferent as he took in the mutinour fire of her eyes. The resentment under his voice was sharp and cutting and only just barely controlled.

Caroline felt the door at her back, numbly registering her means of escape, and yet she didn't dare break away from the command of his presence, the web of violent destruction they were caught up in. She could hardly breathe they were so close.

Damon's eyes hardened mockingly. "So I used you as a blood bag, get over it. You were already needy and vulnerable before I met you."

Caroline glowered dangerously, unable to believe his sheer audacity. "You're a fucking bastard," she spat, her hands clenched and trembling at her sides, knotted into fists of raw emotion.

He smirked coldly, dark eyes glinting in something like amusement. "What? You didn't know that already?"

"You're right," she quickly amended, speaking as evenly as she could despite the shallow pitch in her voice. Unconcealed hostility burned in her face as she glared into his. "You're a world class selfish and egotistical son of a bitch. And that's why I never loved you."

Damon all but laughed at that, a scorn on his lips that was echoed in his eyes. "I wouldn't want you to have any type of feelings for me. I've had my fill of insipid and pathetic schoolgirl crushes, thank you."

"Then why do you keep messing with me?" Caroline heard herself cry in frustration, teetering on the brink of her breaking point and desperate for any shred of understanding to light her path in these perilous waters. Was this all just another game to him? Was this revenge of some sort? "You sleep around - I get it. That's your choice, but you've already 'messed around' with me, why do you keep doing it!"

Damon observed her outburst with an unreadable expression, the force of his gaze somehow stripping away the layers of her defences until she felt all but undone before him. The silence that stretched between them was as taut as a piano wire. She watched a muscle twitch in his jaw, his features tightening for a moment with something that could pass as either a smile or a grimace.

"Maybe it was just morbid curiosity. Obviously Matt can't mean _that_ much to you, I mean, you've cheated on him, how many times is it now? With me? _And_ that stupid dog."

Caroline frowned, fighting back the cruel blow of the spiteful words, determined not to give him any more power over her. He stepped closer until his body was brushing her with a forbidden heat, raising his hand to let his fingertips trace the neckline of her dress. His knuckles skimmed lightly across her collarbone and Caroline let out a small, shaky exhale, trying to control her body from pressing further into his touch, but that didn't stop the violent shudder that ran through her body.

Caroline closed her eyes and willed herself to somehow magically transport anywhere but here. It was no more than a desperate whisper, a vain please for a salvation that would never come. "Why won't you just leave me alone?"

Her breath left her in a shaky gasp as she felt him seize her by the arms, pinning her back harder into the door behind them, making her wince and breaking her eyes open to meet his icy blue glare. The words were a harsh exhale against her lips. "Why won't you just wake up?"

He refused to release her as their eyes held for a single shattering moment, defiant and demanding and equally broken. When he abruptly crushed his mouth to hers, Caroline's mind tumbled into panic even as she pulled him in just as hard, fingers grasping and clutching at his body, winding through his hair and holding him tight against her.

Despite her mind screaming at her to shove him off her and run away, Caroline moaned deeply and opened her mouth to him, arms wrapping around his shoulder as she fought back against the tongue in her mouth. She wasn't about to be dominated so easily by the other vampire, so she kissed back hard, biting at lips and sucking at Damon's tongue hungrily. This was something she had promised herself she was never going to so again, but here they were, clawing at each other, touching, feeling, moaning, and it felt too perfect.

An aching heat rose throughout her body and it nearly killed her to try and fight it. "Don't," she breathed painfully as she finally forced their lips apart, barely opening her eyes. She felt his mouth attacking the skin of her neck, as she tried to force the words through the shallow waver of her voice. "We can't..."

His hand skimmed her thigh, sliding under the skirt of her dress, tracing the line of her underwear with a smooth and enviable confidence. She shuddered and clenched her fist into his shirt with a white-knuckled grip, biting her tongue so hard she tasted blood. She felt him speak against her neck, his breath heard and searing against her skin. "Then tell me to stop."

Caroline pulled back just enough to meet his gaze, a desperate anger breaking over her, spiraling up with the pleasure and pain in a heady intoxication that engulfed her whole being. She held his eyes with a burning and bitter conviction. "I hate you."

A ghost of a smile passed over his lips. "I know," he leaned in close, uttering the words against her mouth in a whisper of smug satisfaction. "It's the one emotion you can't fake."

When their mouths met again, the kiss was urgent and rough and utterly uncompromising. She could feel the demand in his body, pressed hard against her, and blazing want crashed through her, hot and insatiable. Her hand fumbled for the lock on the door behind her, snapping it over in one sharp twist before swiftly allowing the pounding haze to consume her mind entirely.

Now that she'd gone this far, Caroline really couldn't see a point in stopping, hands eagerly touching all the place she'd once been familiar with. Caroline whimpered, a sound normally weak but emboldened by her hands as they made quick work of Damon's jeans, reaching in and biting her lip as she withdrew Damon's cock, stroking the flesh, and arching her head back to give him full access to her neck.

And Damon couldn't help himself, licking, sucking and biting greedily at her neck, completely taking it selfishly. His jeans were pooled around his thighs, and irritably he pushed them down with one hand, before moving to the bottom of Caroline's dress once again.

Caroline gasped as she felt Damon's hand touching her, his other hand pulling on the back of one of her thighs, urging her to wrap her legs around his waist, lifting her off the ground, using the door behind her as leverage to keep her up. The position of her legs made the fabric of her dress ride up even further, but she couldn't bring herself to care that she was indecently exposed.

"I hate you," she all but growled, pulling him up for another bruising kiss. She couldn't wait any longer. She pushed her tongue into Damon's mouth and slid her hands down the top of his shirt, her nails digging into the skin.

He still didn't care for Caroline. He kept telling himself over and over, like a mantra, and he wanted to make her pay for being such a bitch, so he didn't even ask as he took her roughly, and of all the tiny sounds he'd made until then, this time he let out a shamelessly raw, feral groan as he pushed his cock all the way inside her. And fuck, it felt amazing. "Fuck!"

Caroline's mouth opened in a silent gasp, a haze of pleasure shooting up her spine, making her toes curl. She hated Damon. She was sure of it. But fuck if she had ever wanted someone as badly as she did now. She was moaning, panting, fingers gripping tightly on Damon's upper arms. "Oh god," she gasped. It was too much-almost overwhelming.

He didn't care if he was hurting her, but he gave it to her hard, head thrown back and eyes clasped shut, brows furrowed as he yanked her thighs forward, forcing his cock even further into her willing body. He couldn't hear anything anymore over the pounding of his own blood in his ears, slamming his hips into her so fast that he knew the muscles would be aching soon, but he couldn't stop. Not now.

Caroline bit deep into his shoulder to stop herself from crying out loud, holding back the raw moan in her throat. She was so consumed by passion that she barely registered her back leaving the cold surface of the wooden door, Damon stumbling back into the classroom, their lower bodies never break contact. One of Damon's hands left her body, and she heard what sounded like papers and plastics containers hitting the floor, before she was deposited on top of what she guessed was Alaric's desk.

Everything was happening so fast, and before she was even able to process what was happening, Damon had pulled out from within her body, and then a second later, Damon's gruff voice sounded in her ears. "Turn over." In the next instant, Damon's hands were planted on her hips and he was turning her over onto her stomach. She felt his hands trailing up and down her sides until one reached the bottom of her dress, pulling it up to expose more of her to him, and she didn't have time to feel self-conscious, because the frantic tempo seemed to be speeding up rather than slowing down, and she could feel Damon's dextrous fingers grazing over her newly bared skin.

Caroline let out an strangled gasp when, with no warning, Damon raised one of his hands and brought it down sharply against her flesh, a satisfyingly loud smack resounding in the empty classroom. Caroline was in disbelief, and she was about to turn herself around and hit him back, yell at him for doing something so degrading to her, when he thrust into her willing body once again. A muffled sob escaped her throat, as she dug her nails into the cold wooden surface of the desk beneath her, leaving wood shavings and indentations in their wake. She felt him pushing deeper, claiming everything she had to give, and when he leaned down over her, she was surprised when his hands came up to covers her, entwining their fingers. It was an intimate gesture, but Caroline couldn't bring herself to over-think the action, as Damon thrust into her, hard and almost frantic.

Damon released one of Caroline's hands and wrapped it around her waist, his hand meeting with her abdomen, sliding downwards until he reached the apex between her thighs, bringing her closer to her impending orgasm. "Come for me," Damon breathed out, rubbing his thumb over her overly sensitive clit.

Caroline didn't fight the hoarse cry that slipped from her lips as she came, and Damon followed soon after, thrusting into her a few more times with harsh snaps of his hips.

Damon, confusingly enough, ran his hand up the length of Caroline's back until his fingers threaded through her hair, yanking her body into the standing position so that it was flush against his own. Caroline turned her head to see what he was trying to do, but he pulled her in for a deep, long kiss of tongue and subdued moans. She kissed back as passionately as she dared before sliding her hand up to cup the side of his face, stroking gently.

When Damon pulled away, slipping himself from her body, he stared into Caroline's eyes for one tense, nonspeaking moment, finally looking away, reaching down to pull his jeans up, then buckling his belt. Caroline stood on shaky legs, smoothing her dress back down over her legs as she turned to watch Damon run a hand through his hair.

"Is this what you wanted?" Damon asked, tugging at the hem of his shirt to flatten out the wrinkles the two of them had just created.

Caroline was dumbfounded. "I-"

"It's just sex." he snapped at her. "Nothing else."

"O-okay?" she said, not sure of what to say to him. They had never spoken to each other after sex, and she hadn't a clue of what to say to him.

"Also, the next time you need advice, don't go running to Stefan." And with that, Damon walked back over to his former work station, grabbed his notebook and jacket, then cast one more look at Caroline before walking out of the classroom.

A/N: Well, hope you guys enjoyed reading! As always, reviews are LOVE. 3


	7. Let's Cheer To This

A/N: Gosh this story is getting harder to write with all the things happening in the new season. I'm trying not to stray too far, but I guess it can't exactly be helped with the whole Damon/Caroline thing. LOL. Anyway, ENJOY!

Stefan jumped up out of his large bed almost instinctively at the sound of something trilling in his ear. He fumbled around the darkness of the room for his bedside table, looking for his phone. The bright screen displayed a picture Caroline sticking her tongue out at the camera, a new addition to his phone book when she had insisted that he add a picture of her so that he would immediately know that it was her calling him.

He slid his finger across the screen, answering the call. "Hello?" He waited a long moment for some sort of response, but all he heard from the other end of the line was the vague humming of background noise. Still, though, no one spoke.

Confused, Stefan glanced over to his alarm clock to see that it was just a little before three in the morning. "Caroline, are you there?" He asked, making sure that she had actually meant to call him. When no one responded again, he moved to hang up the phone when all of the sudden, a weak voice sounded in his ear.

"Stefan?" Caroline's voice was nearly a whisper, sounded almost frightened like that of a small child.

"Caroline, are you okay?" he inquired finally.

"Stefan?" Caroline asked again instead of answering. "Can you come pick me up?"

The confusion and apprehension in Caroline's voice was unexpected; Stefan could count on one hand the amount of times he had heard that tone in Caroline's voice, and it never meant anything good. Stefan began searching around his bedroom for where he had discard his clothing from the previous night.

"Of course," Stefan agreed immediately; under normal circumstances, he would have pressed Caroline why she was asking, but not when she had that tone in her voice. He was worried; Caroline sounded like she was in some sort of trouble. "Where are you?"

There was a long pause, and Stefan stopped halfway through pulling up his pants and waited for an answer. There was a sharp intake of breath from the other end of the line. "I'm not sure," she replied, unsure of her words. "I was at The Grill. And I kind of wandered away, I'm somewhere." she slurred out.

Stefan raised an eyebrow, though he knew that there was no one in the room to see him do so. "Are you drunk, Caroline?"

Another paused, and then, "I was. Still am, yes. I'm drunk."

Stefan nodded softly to himself, as if taking some sort of inventory of everything she was saying. "Alright, stay where you are. I'm coming to get you."

***

After a great deal of driving around, Stefan was able to surmise where Caroline had gotten herself lost. It was with an immense feeling of relief that Stefan saw Caroline's body caught in his headlights; the same sort of relief seemed to echo in her eyes when she noticed his car stopping next to her.

But Stefan's relief was short lived as he spotted her face when she left herself into the passenger side of the car; she had a garish, purpling bruise on her cheek, a large streak of blood above one of her perfectly manicured eyebrows, and a line of blood trailing down to her chin. Stefan's eyes widened as he saw the state of injury she was in; his shock only lasted a few seconds, though, before it morphed into concern.

"Caroline, what happened to you?" Stefan inquired worriedly as she closed the door behind herself. Caroline looked up at him sheepishly before she seemed to fold herself against the door, as if attempting to avoid letting Stefan see what he had already witnessed. But Stefan gave her a pointed look, taking Caroline's chin into his hand and turning her face towards his, inspecting the damage that was healing itself slowly. After a moment of silence, Caroline bit her lip and responded.

"I don't remember exactly," she confessed after a moment, her voice still sounding small. "I think I got into a fight with someone at The Grill. And I got kicked out."

Stefan raised his eyebrow curiously. "That isn't like you,"

"Yeah, I know." she struggled to find the words she wanted. "I deserved it though. I deserve worse."

"Caroline..." he trailed off, unsure of what to say in reply.

"No...don't. Everything is so fucked up! Matt - he, he didn't even want to remember! He said that he couldn't look at me, knowing what I was. He made me take it all away... And Damon...I can't understand any of it!" she exclaimed, letting out a rushed breath. Stefan blinked a couple times at her sudden outburst, which had left her breathing hard, as if it had taken all of her energy. She suddenly looked exhausted and pale, and instead of pressing the issue, he turned in his seat again, strapping his seat-belt.

"Put on your seatbelt. I'll take you home," Stefan offered softly.

"No!" Caroline's protest was too quick, too full of apprehension to be anything less than serious. Stefan paused before he put the car in drive, turning to look at her once more. Caroline responded by shifting uncomfortable in her seat. "I mean, can't I just stay at your place tonight? I don't want - I don't want to be at home. My mom's not on shift tonight. There's too much-"

She broke off suddenly, as if she couldn't find the words or the energy to continue. And Stefan didn't have the heart to say no to her, especially not when she was in this state. "All right," he agreed easily, and one quick glance at Caroline told him that she was relieved. Caroline sagged back into her seat and sighed deeply. reaching for her seat-belt and fastening it without another word. Satisfied by this response, Stefan put his car in drive and made a u-turn to start the progress back to the boarding house.

Caroline was silent the entire trip; the few times Stefan had been able to look briefly away from the road to glance at her out of the corner of his eye, he saw that she had closed her eyes and had presumably fallen asleep. Stefan shook his head, sighing to himself quietly. He couldn't help but worry about the blonde, he knew that she had been under a great deal of stress lately, and it was obvious that she hadn't been coping in a healthy way. Still, Stefan respected the silence that she seemed to want and didn't wake her until even when he'd parked outside of the large house.

"We're here," he told the other vampire as he put the car in park. When he received no reply, he reached out towards her, placing his hand on her shoulder, shaking her lighting, intending to wake her from her slumber, but to no avail. Stefan sighed once more, deciding that he did not want to disturb the blonde anymore and instead, he unbuckled his seat-belt and got out of the car, closing his door as quietly as he could. He made his way around the vehicle to the passenger's door, opening it slowly and leaning down to catch Caroline's head on his shoulder, as it had been propped up by the door. He maneuvered around her slumbering frame awkwardly, managing to get her unbuckled from the seat before hoisting her up and carrying her towards the house.

After a bit of fumbling with his keys, he had the door open and began making his way up the stairwell to one of the many spare bedrooms they had in the house. Once he reached his destination, he lowered Caroline onto the bed, pausing to pull her short boots off her feet before pulling the sheets over her body. Caroline groaned as her head rolled further into the pillow he had placed her upon, and Stefan gave her one last glance before getting back up and making his way towards the exit of the room.

"Stefan..." he heard Caroline mumble softly, and he immediately turned to face her, noticing that she had opened her eyes just barely.

"What is it, Caroline?" he asked, looking inquisitively back at the inebriated vampire. Her face seemed to flush a darker shade of red.

"Please don't go," she begged, her lower lip trembling. Stefan had to suppress a sigh; it was often a side-effect of alcohol consumption for Caroline to become a bit lonely, even needy. "Just stay with me until I fall back asleep." Seeing the slight glassiness of Caroline's eyes, Stefan couldn't deny her. He exhaled softly before making his way back over to the bed and sitting on the edge.

"Stefan?" she asked after a moment of silence. "Thank you," she paused. "For picking me up tonight."

"It's okay," he replied, patting her head affectionately. "Just go to sleep now, you'll feel better in the morning."

Twenty minutes later, Caroline was in a deep sleep with Stefan's also sleeping form curled towards her.

***

Caroline woke to the feeling of someone else's body stretched beside her own, the warmth of another person seeping through her clothing and the sheet between them. It only took her a moment to open her eyes, seeing that she had somehow made it into Damon's bedroom, and was laying atop his bed, one of his arms draped around her smaller frame.

Shocked to find herself in such a predicament, she looked up, even more surprised to see a pair of crystal blue eyes looking down at her. Damon wrapped his arm around her body even tighter, pulling her into him, his eyes boring into hers in the darkness of the bedroom. Caroline blushed and looked away, not knowing how she had ended up in Damon's bed. She vaguely Stefan picking her up, and taking her back to the boarding house and putting her up in a spare bedroom, but she had no clue as to how she had managed waking up with Damon.

"I'm sorry," she whispered immediately, feeling embarrassed. She started to pull away from him, but his iron grip around her body prevented her from leaving.

Damon didn't say anything, just leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. Caroline gasped as Damon's lips descended upon hers, realizing very quickly that Damon was hardly dressed, feeling his smooth skin against the hands she had placed upon his chest.

Caroline pulled back for a moment, gasping, but Damon wasted no time in capturing her lips again, kissing her fervently as Caroline tried to struggle away in confusion. When she finally managed to pull their lips apart, she gasped once more. "Damon, what-?"

But before she could continue with her question, Damon's lips had taken hers again, this time more roughly. Suddenly, and impulse to question what Damon was doing was overwhelmed by the desire that was beginning to bubble up in her body. She kissed Damon back with equal fervor, which seemed to please the other vampire immensely.

When Damon pulled away again, Caroline didn't speak, letting him place a row of kisses down her jaw until he reached her neck, nibbling gently against the skin there. He bit down particularly hard just once, his fangs barely piercing her skim, and Caroline gasped in half pleasure, half pain. As if to soothe the injure skin, Damon then trailed his tongue across the length of her neck, making her shiver as a spark of electric energy traveled down her spine.

As Damon went back to kissing and nibbling Caroline's neck more gently, he slid his hand down her body, Caroline inhaling sharply as he suddenly cupped the apex between her thighs, massaging the mound until he got a strangled moan from the blonde. Caroline instinctively arched up into Damon's body, thrusting her hips into the had that was caressing her.

Damon seems pleased by this, glancing up at her through lust-filled eyes, a devilish grin on his face as he continued to massage her teasingly through layers of fabric. Caroline could only whimper when Damon began to undo the button of her jeans, his grin growing wider when he finally pulled the zipper down and slipped his fingers inside the material.

"Caroline, wake up," a voice suddenly said, a voice that did not belong to Damon, and her eyes snapped open. Once again, she found herself looking into a set of piercing eyes, however, instead of bright blue, they were a shade of golden amber.

Stefan's gaze was concerned, and Caroline had no idea what to think. "Are you okay?" he inquired. "You looked like you were having a nightmare."

Caroline's eyes widened as she looked away from the other Salvatore brother. "Oh my god," she whispered, burying her face in her hands. She was far too embarrassed to say anything to Stefan, but when she got over the fact the she had been having a sex dream about Damon while laying next to Stefan, it dawned on her that she was in fact, laying in bed with Stefan Salvatore, her best friend's _boyfriend._

Caroline shot up in the bed quickly, the sharp movement caused her head to spin slightly, and it was only then that she realized that she still had alcohol in her system. She placed both her hands on the bed, steadying herself, and she felt one of Stefan's hand grasp her forearm as if to hold her up. She glanced up Stefan, focusing her gaze on a very worried looking Stefan. Caroline cursed under her breath, wishing she could remember more of the evening - wishing she could remember how she had gotten into this bed, with Stefan...with his shirt off, she now realized. She tried to remember, but her mind was drawing a blank, and she couldn't recall things properly, her mind too jumbled from the rather traumatizing realization that she had somehow ended up in bed with Elena's boyfriend.

"Stefan, what I am doing here? We didn't...I mean, we didn't, you know?" she demanded worriedly, wanting to know if she was indeed the world's worst friend. Her head was spinning, and she had to resist the urge to throw up.

Stefan blinked repeatedly, slightly thrown by her question and looking confused. "I-no. No, of course not. We didn't have sex," Stefan admitted, and Caroline took a long, deep breath, relief creeping into her eyes.

"Oh thank god," she breathed out, feeling her heart finally slow down to a normal level. She collapsed back into the pillows, letting the relief wash over her. After a moment though, she looked back to Stefan. "I mean, not that you're not, a great person or anything. I mean, you're my best friend's-"

Stefan held up a hand, laughing. "It's all right, Caroline. I understand." he dismissed with a smile.

"Oh god," Caroline brought her hands up to cover her mouth, as she groaned. "I'm never drinking again. I'm still drunk," she closed her eyes, willing the haziness to just go away, and she vaguely registered the sound of Stefan getting up.

She felt his hand gently brush a hair out of her face, then press against the skin of her forehead, as if he was taking her temperature. Sighing, he said, "Go back to sleep then,"

Caroline opened her eyes and gave Stefan a thoughtful look, reminding herself that she would have to thank him later, but for now, she just wanted more sleep, she would figure out what had happened when she woke up.

***

Caroline awoke to a killer headache. It felt like her skull was being pounded to pieces by a giant rubber mallet. Groaning, she sat up and ignored the wave of nausea that she could only assume was induced by a hangover. She wasn't used to feeling the aftermath of her alcoholism, and frankly, it made her never want to consume alcohol again. It suddenly dawned on her that she hadn't fed in the last day, and the hangover actually made sense. Caroline finally took notice of the stack of clothes that was placed on the end of the bed, along with a note. Caroline picked up the note and immediately recognized Stefan's handwriting.

_'Take a shower and use these clothes. I'll be at school when you wake up, so help yourself to anything in the house. And try not to get so drunk next time, please? -Stefan'_

Smiling and pushing the covers aside, Caroline grabbed the clothes and padded over to the guest room's bathroom, turning on the shower until it was practically fire coming out of the faucet and stripping down. She stepped under that pour of water and hissed at the heat. Soon, she relaxed under the steady stream and allowed the warmth to soak into her body and head, soothing her headache and sick stomach.

She washed herself up after a while and used a spare toothbrush she had found under the sink to brush her teeth. Looking at herself in the mirror that had fogged up with condensation, she decided that she looked as bad as she felt, noticing the faded bruise under her eye and her bottom lip that was still slightly swollen, and she shrugged, grabbing the shirt and sweats that Stefan had left for her, pulling them on. The sweats were a couple inches too long, and bunched up around her ankles, and she had to pull the drawstring tighter around her waist, but she decided that she still looked presentable.

Sighing, she pulled open the door to the guest room and made her way down the stairs, and down the long hallways to the kitchen, running a hand through her damp hair. Her stomach dropped when she saw Damon at the table in the large dining room, reading a book and drinking a glass of what she assumed was scotch. By the look on his face when he glanced up at her, he was just as displeased about Caroline's presence.

"Sleeping beauty awakens," Damon quipped caustically.

"Aww, how sweet of you to finally recognize my attractiveness," she replied airily, continuing her quest into the kitchen, walking on her toes to avoid the full brunt of the cold linoleum against her feet. Much to her dismay, Damon rose from his seat and followed her into the kitchen, but she busied herself in the fridge.

"What are you doing here, Blondie?" he asked, coming up behind her and reaching around her frame to grab a blood bag. Caroline couldn't suppress the shiver that ran through her body when she felt the warmth of Damon behind her, and she could swear that he was torturing her on purpose.

Choosing to ignore his question, she grabbed a blood bag, and ripped the cap from the bottom of the bag. "Do you guys have any aspirin? My head is killing me."

"Going to start popping pills now? Doesn't mix well with being a slush."

Caroline glared at him and he merely rolled his eyes and pointed to a cabinet on the left. She followed the gesture and opened the cabinet, finding a shelf of bottles. She grabbed the bottle of painkillers and turned to face the other vampire who had poured the contents of his blood bag into the glass he had from before.

Caroline, unfortunately, had a problem with the uncomfortable silence that had taken over the room. It unnerved her, so she spoke against her better judgement. "Don't you have anything better to do than bother me?"

Damon smirked at her question. "No."

At his response, Caroline rolled her eyes, taking a sip from the blood bag in her hand, relishing the taste. "You're such a child."

"You're the one that looks like a child sipping on that blood bag like it's a damn juice box," and Caroline flushed at his words, but defiantly took another sip from the bag.

"Shut up," she replied. And then the room was filled with silence once again, the two vampires drinking their blood.

"I'm curious," he began, and she looked at him inquisitively. "That night, at the party, when you found me in the woods, why did you watch me fuck that girl?"

Caroline's eyes widened in shock at his crude question. "What the hell are you talking about?" And Damon smirked once again.

"You saw me, in the woods, with another girl. And you watched."

Caroline's eyes narrowed. "Don't go there, I was drunk." she replied darkly, her voice eerily quiet.

"Why not?" he questioned, knowing full and well that he was walking a thin line. "You're the one who was watching me,"

"You're the one that was fucking in public, not me," Caroline interrupted sharply.

"You can't deny that you haven't done the same," Damon replied, just as quickly. "You know, Ric was pretty pissed off about his desk. You should really apologize for destroying it."

Caroline dropped her blood bag, grabbing Damon by his shirt collar so quickly that he didn't even have time to blink before he was shoved violently up against the wall, her right hand fisted in his shirt.

"Now you listen close because I'm not going to say this twice," she all but snarled at him, her face inches away from his. "Leave. Me. Alone." she leaned closer. "I'm done with you and all your bullshit." Damon had a genuine look of surprise upon his face, and Caroline was surprised at herself for finally taking a stand.

"Be careful, Blondie." he said, as if he was warning her.

"No, _you _be careful." she hissed, letting go and stepping away from him. "Quit messing with me, I've got other shit to worry about, and I shouldn't be wasting my time on you." She grabbed her blood bag from the floor and walked out of the kitchen quickly, taking advantage of Damon's shock to make a quick getaway.

Caroline couldn't believe what had just taken place. She had just stood up to Damon, and he was too dumbfounded to say anything. Caroline smiled to herself, holding her head high and feeling rather accomplished.

A/N: Caroline has balls. For now anyway. Reviews are love. 3


	8. Must Be The Music

A/N: A couple things; you guys are absolutely AMAZING. I am loving all the feedback! And I didn't mention that I'm back from Afghanistan, however my story updating skills are just as depleted as they were in Afghanistan. Getting back into the swing of things with my kids and whatnot. But I am trying as hard as I can to update! Thank you so much to all you fans, loyal and new! You guys make my day. :] Now, enjoy!

The last thing that Damon Salvatore expected that evening was to end up in shower, the warm spray of the water trailing down his naked body, with his cock in some nameless blonde's mouth - but that was exactly what had happened.

Damon had spent the majority of the day with Bonnie and Jeremy at the site of witch massacre, and once Bonnie had been successful in her attempts to harness all of the witches powers, he had gone to The Grill, compelled the bartender to leave the most expensive bottle of scotch, and resigned himself to another night spent drinking alone, determined to forget about a certain blonde baby vamp who had been crossing his mind more often than naught as of late. He had been approached by some too-drunk blonde, and after a couple more drinks, Damon had ended up in the shower, his hands resting against the shower wall as the woman on her knees in front of him laved her tongue around the head of his cock.

Damon groaned again, closing his eyes, and letting one of his hands trail down to cup the back of her head, his fingers entangling in the now drenched blonde locks. Much to his dismay, as soon as his eyes shut, a different blonde flashed before his vision and he suddenly felt the tight heat around him as he imagined the _'vampire barbie'_ laying beneath him on Alaric's desk. Damon groaned and wiped the shower water from his face, trying to ignore the flashback.

The rush of indecent pleasure that invaded his body wasn't entirely unwelcome, as he pictured Caroline's lithe body writhing beneath him, the feeling of pure, unrestrained _thrill_ as he pounded into her so willingly, and Damon felt himself growing harder. "Fuck," he hissed through gritted teeth. And he could feel the blonde almost smile around his cock.

He couldn't understand why Caroline affected him so much. He couldn't stand the arrogant bitch. She was the definition of high maintenance, prissy, control freak - the kind of person that Damon tried to avoid. So why did she matter so much? He thought back to their meeting in the kitchen earlier, and how she had looked so devastatingly pissed off at him. The dark look in her normally bright eyes had made his skin crawl, and it unnerved him how much she could affect him.

Unable to stop himself, he tugged at the blonde's hair, pulling her mouth away from him and helping her to stand on her feet in front of him. She made an attempt to kiss him, but he turned his face away and merely turned her around, bending her over, and without so much as a warning, thrust himself into the slutty woman, pumping in and out a few times and moaning. "Fuck," he muttered, his eyes shutting tightly.

He tried to think of anyone - Elena, Katherine, anyone he had fucked before, but Caroline continuously came into view behind his eyelids. He told himself that he would stop if he couldn't picture anyone else, but every time Caroline's face - bright blue eyes, silky skin, pouty lips - flashed before his eyes, he felt himself moving faster, causing the woman in front of him to cry out.

He groaned, his hips twitching as he pictured the baby vampire over and over again. Her hands touching him, her moans and occasional curse word ringing in his ears, her teeth digging into his skin...

Damon sped up, thrusting into the accepting body, working desperately to achieve his release. He threw his head back and his mouth opened in a silent gasp as he felt his climax approaching.

It was Caroline. Her eyes, her face, her entire being that bothered him. He couldn't understand her, couldn't read her.

Moaning and cursing loudly, Damon pulled out and came onto the skin of the blonde's back, his knees trembling slightly.

Now Caroline's face was burned into his retinas, laughing at him, mocking him for fantasizing about her while he was with someone else.

Damon winced and ignored his own thoughts. He refused to acknowledge how heavily his heart was pounding and how much his head was spinning. Pushing it all to a back burner, he grabbed the anonymous blonde's arm, turned her around to face him and looked into her eyes, which weren't the shade of blue he had been imagining, but instead, a murky green.

"Leave," and without a single protest, the woman exited the shower, gathered her discarded clothing and walked out of the steam-filled room. Damon grabbed the shampoo and began to lather up his hair, trying to forget the throbbing between his legs and the taunting image of Caroline in his mind's eye.

***

Caroline was on the phone in the kitchen and pacing, and Bonnie knew that it couldn't be a good sign. She knew that Caroline had been extremely upset for the past week or so, and she knew any more stress could lead her to exploding. Caroline reacted unfavorably to stress, and had a temper that was strictly prepared to erupt at the correct stimulus, and Bonnie saw the temper building as she watched her friend.

Bonnie glanced up over the top of her book every so often, but she couldn't hear what Caroline was saying into the phone. What she could see, though, was that Caroline was aggravated by whatever the person on the other end was saying, that this was something that could inevitably lead to one of Caroline's famous explosions. But Bonnie knew Caroline too well, knew how to calm her down and keep her from reacting badly.

Boonie knew that the best thing to do, for the moment, was to just continue reading through the Grimoire she had sprawled across her lap. So that was what the witch did, eyes scanning the symbols in the book. She got so caught up in what was written on the page before her that she almost forgot that Caroline was in the next room at all. Yet after an indeterminate amount of time, she heard Caroline's raised voice from the other room.

"Well, there was a reason that I was-"

Bonnie looked up at the harsh sound of Caroline's tone, both startled and worried. If she hadn't already been able to detect signs of annoyance in Caroline's posture, in the way that she pace and the expression on her face as she spoke to the other person, Bonnie knew that Caroline was in a bad mood now. That bad mood seemed to be compounded by the fact that the person on the other end had obviously cut her off, something that irritated her to no end.

"I know, but I can't just drop every-"

Caroline stopped abruptly again, interrupted once more by the person she was talking to. There as a tension about her; Bonnie could see it in the way she held herself, the way the muscles of her shoulders were bunched up uncomfortably, the way the expression on her face was some mixture between worried and absolutely fuming.

But whatever the person on the other end was saying seemed to be stopping her anger from building, which Bonnie could only count as some sort of blessing. Finally, something in Caroline seemed to deflate; her shoulders shrugged tiredly and she nodded.

"All right; whatever you think is best. I'll be there."

A few moments later, Caroline hung up the phone and Bonnie went back to her book, though this time, she was only pretending to read, waiting for Caroline to enter the room and vent.

She didn't have to wait very long, because after a moment, she heard footsteps coming toward her. Bonnie made a show of closing her book and putting it down on the end table, watching as Caroline slumped down onto the couch next to her.

Bonnie sat there for a long moment, waiting and hoping for Caroline to speak, but the blonde didn't say a word, didn't even seem to fully acknowledge her presence next to her. Sighing to herself, Bonnie sat back, making herself comfortable before she spoke.

"All right, what's wrong?" Bonnie inquired, her words curt but her tone still somehow patient. Caroline turned her eyes almost disinterestedly to her friend, as if the question was somewhat of an unnecessary burden upon her. Caroline rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to speak, but Bonnie halted the words before they could leave her mouth. "Don't tell me it's nothing, because I already don't believe you."

Caroline crossed her arms and huffed, but she didn't say anything, which left no doubt in Bonnie's mind that she had been about to say just what she thought. But instead of thinking of something else to say, Caroline just turned to look away from Bonnie, her arms still crossed over her chest as she sat down and glared in no particular direction. Bonnie sighed dramatically.

"Is this a Damon thing? Because he's been acting weird lately too. " Bonnie finally pressed. There was a moment after she spoke in which the world seemed to exist in a vacuum; Caroline didn't react at all, and it almost seemed as if everything had ceased moving altogether. Then, all of a sudden, reality took over once against and Caroline turned to face Bonnie. Her eyes seemed to have expanded to twice their size; her mouth opened and closed repeatedly in a dumbfounded manner that made her very much resemble a fish. Bonnie would have wanted to laugh had her question not been so serious; instead, she just reached over and placed a finger under Caroline's jaw, gently forcing the other woman's mouth closed.

"Don't act so surprised," Bonnie said after a moment, when Caroline still seemed too shocked to speak. "I'm not blind, you know. You're still sleeping with him."

Caroline's eyes, if possible, seemed to widen a little more in panic, and she glanced around as if to make sure there were no others to hear their conversation before she turned back to Bonnie. "Does anyone else know?" Caroline demanded, her voice laced with paranoia. Bonnie raised an eyebrow, but she took pity on the vampire's plight.

"No, I don't think they do," she replied evenly, eyes never leaving Caroline's face, trying to gauge her reaction. Caroline let out a long, relieved sigh before leaning forward and burying her face in her hands with a sardonic chuckle, one that sounded very strained and almost hysterical. Caroline's reaction puzzled Bonnie a little, but then, she didn't know any more of the situation than what she had seen, and what Caroline had told her. But after a minute, her chuckling stopped and she looked up abruptly, her face a picture on intrigue.

"What do you mean he's been acting weird? How would you know?"

Bonnie watched Caroline calmly for a moment before responding. "I don't know, he's just been...weird. We were together today." she replied finally, and she took notice of something flash in Caroline's eyes that was undeniably jealousy. Before Caroline could ask another question, Bonnie spoke again. "Although I'd advise that you either quit messing around with him while you're ahead or be more careful about it. You can't keep it a secret forever. You can't keep Matt in the dark."

Caroline looked shocked once again. "I...you...it's - it's not what you think, Bon. It's not like we're...we don't - I never meant for this to happen," she finally settled on, guilt absolutely seeping from her voice. Bonnie raised an eyebrow interestedly and Caroline flushed deeply, lowering her eyes in response. Her next words were spoken in almost a whisper. "I don't want to hurt anyone, Bon, especially not Matt. It wasn't supposed to happen like this."

Caroline didn't look up to see Bonnie's reaction, but if she had, she would have seen a face filled with warring emotion, everything from confusion to mild suspicion. And there was a part of Bonnie that didn't know how to deal with this situation now that she'd managed to bring it up. "What was it supposed to be like then?" she inquired disbelievingly.

"It wasn't supposed to happen at all! You know that!" she yelled suddenly, however, feeling immediately embarrassed, lowering her eyes again.

"But it did. So what are you planning to do about it?"

Caroline bit her lip, as if she wasn't ready to be confronted with that question. There was pain written clearly on her face, and confusion and indecision and apprehension. Bonnie watched with an almost clinical interest as all the emotions warred for which would come out dominant on ger face, but surprisingly, a determination that she hadn't expected in the slightest surfaced and Caroline looked up, though she still looked a bit uncertain.

"I...I guess I'll just have to learn to say no," Caroline confessed, and a part of her looked slightly sad about that fact, which surprised Bonnie to no end.

"Care..." she queried after a long moment. "Do you have feelings for Damon?"

Caroline cleared her throat uncomfortably, and she was clearly battling over what to say to her in reply. But after a minute of silence, she seemed to settle on an answer, though she didn't appear ready to say it with any amount of the conviction that had previously found its way into her voice.

"No, I can't." Caroline said, and this time her whisper was so low that Bonnie had to strain her ears to hear her. And suddenly, Bonnie felt bad for questioning the blonde so harshly. Softly, she slid an arm around here shoulders, but didn't say a word. They continued sitting that way for a couple more moments before Bonnie spoke once again.

"So what was that phone call about? Because obviously, it has nothing to do with what we just talked about."

Caroline's eyes became wide again. "Crap, the decade dance. I completely forgot about it. I need to go shopping."

Bonnie smiled in return. "Nothing like a little retail therapy?" And Caroline nodded in agreement.

***  
(Sorry! I skip passed the dance. This is after!)  
***

Damon paced back and forth in his room, contemplating the events that had transpired that night. It was the night of the 60's decade dance, and he had been forced to attend, seeing as how Elena wanted to go, and the Klaus-threat was rather imminent. They had signed over the boarding house into Elena's name, but she had still insisted on 'going to school', which clued them in on the fact that Klaus was most likely going to make an appearance.

Surprisingly enough, the actual dance wasn't half-bad, no matter how cheesy it seemed. The music was loud, and someone had managed to spike the punch in a very typically cliche way, so Damon couldn't complain about that. And while the night as a whole had almost turned into a disaster when Klaus revealed that he had been possessing Alaric's body, and knew about their plan to get rid of him, they had succeeded in making him believe that Bonnie was dead, which was a huge step in their plan.

However, despite the almost devastating events that had taken place, Damon found himself disconcerted about a completely different issue. He had been busy ignoring some girl that was hanging all over him when Caroline had walked into the gymnasium in that ridiculous hot pink Jackie Oh get up, and he couldn't fathom why he had become so irritated when he caught sight of the huge smile that graced her lips as she clung onto that idiot boyfriend of hers.

To distract himself, he had pulled Elena in for a dance, and while it satisfied a part of him to be close to her, he felt his face grow hot when he glanced back over to the blonde watching as she pulled Matt onto the dance floor. Matt had pulled her close, his hands resting low on her back, almost sliding over her ass, and he couldn't help but roll his eyes when he overheard him telling Caroline how pretty she looked. He chose to turn back to Elena, pulling her closer and spinning her around the dance floor. Yet, once again, his eyes were drawn back to Caroline when from the corner of his eye, he saw Stefan taking Matt's place. Not even ten seconds had passed, and they were pressed so close against one another that it became agitating to witness. He ditched Elena to pick up a dance with Bonnie, questioning her conversation with her boyfriend, Jeremy, dancing closer to her than he really needed to, all the while, watching Stefan dancing with the blonde, whispering between themselves.

Her eyes had flickered over to him, and she met his angry gaze, her eyes narrowing at him before Stefan had spun her around and pressed himself against her back, swaying them both side to side. Damon had watched the display, and felt the rage bubbling in his chest, and suddenly, he realized that he had been uncomfortable with how close his brother was to Caroline. Damon felt his jaw tighten and his face burn, willing himself to look elsewhere, but when the pair turned further, Caroline met his gaze once again, whispering something into Stefan's ear that he couldn't comprehend before smirking triumphantly.

It had dawned on him that everything she had been doing was on purpose. That bitch had been trying to make him jealous, and it infuriated him to no end. Just as he was about to throw pride out the window and march up to the dancing couple, tear them apart and drag the blonde some place private, the song ended and they parted from each other. His dance with Bonnie had ended, and he released her back to Jeremy, while Stefan made his way back to Elena. Damon fumed, his nails biting into the palms of his hand and his determined gaze set on the blonde who had found her way back to Matt. Another ridiculously upbeat song began, and rather than bothering with the blonde, Damon found himself sandwiched between two high school girls that were grinding themselves against him lewdly.

His thoughts were interrupted when he finally noticed Elena standing at his bedroom door. He scoffed audibly, knowing that she had come to talk about his actions from the night and after he had satisfied her with his explanation, and she left his room, Damon pulled out his cell phone, dialing a familiar phone number until his phone displayed _'Blondie'. _He paused for a second, looking down at the screen, as if he was questioning why he had thought to call her, before erasing the number and scrolling through his contacts to the one that read _'Andy'._ He needed a release, and Andy would come with no complaints.

Damon threw himself down on the bed, pressing the green 'call' button.

***

Caroline had been caught off-guard. When Stefan had approached her at the dance, she had no idea that Klaus had been threatening Elena, and she felt the guilt spread throughout her body. She had been too preoccupied and consumed with her own issues, that she had almost forgotten that her best friend was in danger.

She had actually had a decent day at school, completely obvious to the plans of her friends. She had compelled Matt to forget, and while it still stung a tiny bit that he didn't want to accept her as a vampire, she couldn't deny that she was happy now that they were somewhat back to normal. With planning the dance, and picking out an outfit, and preparing for her date, it felt as if she still had some semblance of a human life, and it warmed Caroline in a way that no amount of blood could satisfy.

Any happiness that had been restored to her was quickly squashed down when she first arrived at the gymnasium, her eyes scanning the large crowd and landing upon Damon, who had been dawning a pair of _leather_ pants. She felt a twinge in her stomach as she watched him twirl Elena around, and she had dragged Matt onto the floor as a distraction. She hadn't spoken to Damon since the morning in the kitchen, and while she had felt empowered at conclusion of their conversation, she couldn't deny that she wasn't happy seeing him with laughing with Elena, which only upset her further.

It was then that her dance with Matt had been interrupted, and Stefan cut in, informing her that Klaus was at large, and to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. _"You know, Damon's been watching you since you walked in."_ he had said after a few moments of dancing. And Caroline pulled back to look at him disbelievingly. _"Seriously. Look at him." _Stefan had pulled her closer, and she shot her eyes over to where Damon was now dancing closely with Bonnie, catching his glare. Stefan had spun her around so that her back was to him, and he brought his mouth close to her ear. _"I think he's jealous." _And Caroline had laughed at how ridiculous that entire idea had sounded.

But now, as she thought back on it, Damon had seemed jealous. She had met his gaze several times that night, and he had looked like he was angry about something, and she couldn't help the smirk that found its way to her lips. _"He looks like he wants to kill you." _She had whispered to Stefan, and he chuckled, which only seemed to fuel the fury in Damon's eyes.

But as Caroline ran up the stairs to the Salvatore boarding house, she shook the image of Damon's darkened gaze from her mind, deciding that she had issues that were slightly more pressing. She was so out of the loop of everything that had been going on with the group, and she decided that it was time to figure things out, especially since she had heard a vicious rumor about Bonnie that desperately needed to be resolved.

However, when she made a move to enter the house, she was surprised when she ran into an invisible barrier. Luckily for her, Elena had been standing not so far from her door and invited her inside the house.

"Sorry, we just had the house signed over to my name." Elena explained to her, Caroline nodding in acknowledgement.

"What's going on? What happened tonight?" she inquired, smiling slightly as Stefan walked towards them.

"Long story short, Klaus in is Alaric's body, Bonnie had to pretend die, but she's alive. Now we have to figure out how to kill Klaus a different way." Stefan stated as a matter-of-factually.

Caroline's eyes widened, and she shook her head, processing the information. "Wow. I've missed a lot. I need details, now." she demanded, walking into the living room and plopping herself down onto one of the couches. After a couple moments had passed, Elena excused herself to an unknown destination, and left Stefan and Caroline to talk amongst themselves.

When Caroline mentioned her last run-in with Damon, Stefan laughed loudly, causing Caroline to sharpen her icy glare.

"Fuck you, Stefan," she spat at him. "It's not funny."

"You've got to be kidding me," the vampire laughed. "You stood up to Damon?" he grinned. "That is brilliantly hilarious!"

"It's not funny, Stefan!" Caroline whined. "I walked into the kitchen and he followed me in there."

"Oh, don't tell me," Stefan snickered. "You were wearing my clothes."

Caroline bowed her head in shame and there was another bout of laughter from the other vampire. "He said that Ric was pissed about his desk."

Stefan made a mock gasp and brought his hand to his mouth. "_You_ were the one? Ric's desk? God, I remember when he brought that up. How terrible."

"It is! I was humiliated," Caroline groused, scowling at her hand that were in her lap. "And I just snapped. I don't know why he's always picking on me!"

"Geez, Caroline, are you really that dense?"

Caroline frowned. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Stefan rolled his eyes and smirked. "He likes you Caroline. If he didn't, he wouldn't keep going back to you." He articulated at Caroline's stunned face. "And if he didn't like you, he wouldn't have asked me why you were passed out in the spare bedroom the other day, and tell me that he'd keep an eye on you while I was gone."

"Oh," Caroline muttered.

"Yeah, oh."

Caroline's eyes widened further in realization. Did Damon really _like_ her?

It would certainly explain a lot of things.

They sat in silence for another moment, Caroline mulling over Stefan's words, simply enjoying each others company, until she shifted in her seat, sighing.

"Stefan, I love you. You're amazing, you know that, right?" she smiled at him. "But if you'll excuse me, I'm pretty sure I left my jacket upstairs the other day, and I should be getting home, my mom's been pretty strict with my curfew." And with that she hopped up from the couch and made her way to the staircase. When she reached about halfway, she could hear two voices conversing, and as she walked closer toward Damon's room, it was clear that Elena had snuck off to talk to Damon.

Caroline made a movement to turn around, feeling like she was intruding on a personal conversation, but the temptation was far too great, and she tiptoed right up to the door frame, listening to the word exchange.

_"Look, I shouldn't have hit you." _she heard Elena's voice.

_"Apology accepted."_ Damon responded. There was a brief paused, and then, _"Let me be clear about something, if it comes down to you and the witch again, I will gladly let Bonnie die. I will _always _choose you."_

Caroline pressed herself tightly against the wall outside Damon's room. She couldn't comprehend what Damon's words to Elena had done to her brain, but for some reason, she felt her eyes prickling with tears. Stefan couldn't have been more wrong. But she couldn't bring herself to be angry at him, he was only trying to help after all.

Maybe she was the one that was catching feelings. Maybe Bonnie was right...

But before she could question herself any further, she heard Elena's footsteps making their way toward the bedroom door, and she high-tailed it back down the stairs, passed Stefan, and out the door, completely forgetting the jacket that she gone to retrieve.

A/N: GETTING HARDER TO WRITE. I had a lot of trouble writing this chapter, since it seems really choppy to me, but I cannot bring myself to write scenes that happen in the show, seeing as how that would be repetitive. I just change a few things and add stuff. Hope you guys don't mind too much! I'll try to update ASAP! Reviews are love!


	9. I Will Follow You Into The Dark

A/N: So, just a warning, I might start veering a little more from the TV storyline depending on where I want to go with the fic. Still undecided, but I'll try to stick to the storyline! This chapter is a little shorter than the rest, but I think it's a big turning point in Caroline and Damon's relationship. Yep, that means more Damon/Caroline goodness! ENJOY!

Caroline stared at the coffee table in front of her, her expression blank and lifeless. She breathed slowly and steadily as she sat there, completely disregarding the half empty bottle of bourbon that was sitting, uncapped on top of the table.

Bourbon. It brought her mind back to Damon, and she vaguely wondered how he felt about the whole ordeal. Caroline shook her head, mentally scolding herself. Of course he didn't care, she had overheard his conversation with Elena. She was most likely the furthest thing from his mind, and that harsh reality aggravated her more than she was willing to admit. She had spent the entire night thinking it; the words that were spoken, the stolen glances. None of it made sense to her, but she wouldn't be surprised if Damon remained completely unaffected by it, he had always been the type to brush things off.

Her unwelcome jealousy towards Elena had her oddly reminiscent of when she was human, and how she had _always_ felt like she was second to perfect little Elena, except now, she couldn't bring herself to be angry at the other woman. Elena deserved to be happy, after all she had endured, and far be it from Caroline to want her to be miserable like she had done so in the past.

However, the more she thought about the night before, Damon's words echoing in her ears, the more she realized just how much he had gotten under her skin, and that was what hurt so much. Stefan had told her that Damon liked her, and while it would have made sense and explained a lot of his behavior, her suspicions had been crushed when she eavesdropped on his conversation with Elena.

She spent hours contemplating why she was so upset about something she already knew, because she did know that Damon was in love with Elena, and she had come to the conclusion that maybe a small part of her _wanted_ Damon to like her. But she dismissed the thought with a quick shake of her head. She couldn't allow herself care when it was so blatantly obvious that Damon hadn't spared a thought for her.

Then again, there was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that maybe she was wrong. Every time they were around each other, somehow, their gazes would always meet, and he would give her a knowing look, never saying a word. She thought she might be confusing it for something else, but she swore she could see some guise of emotion in his eyes. His eyes, while most times unreadable, gave Caroline a reason, however small, to believe that Damon might actually still have some of his humanity.

Suddenly, Caroline felt very irritated with herself, but her internal monologue was interrupted when there was an erratic knocking at the door and Caroline looked over at it, confused. The knocking persisted and she stood up quickly, striding over to the door to look out the window.

What she saw caused her to rip the door open quickly, revealing a haggard looking Damon leaning against the door frame.

"Damon, what the hell are you doing here?" she exclaimed.

The dark haired man looked up at her, and she immediately had to do a double take. He looked horrible, like he had just been staked, or hit with a shot of vervain, but somehow she couldn't bring herself to feel any sympathy for him. There was a distinct smell of human blood mixed with that of a distillery emanating from him, and Caroline didn't even bother hiding the look of disgust that plastered itself to her face.

"Just lemme in," Damon slurred, looking annoyed. "I can't go home."

Eyes wide in disbelief, Caroline stepped aside to let him in, not knowing what else to do. The dark haired male stumbled into her house and somehow made his way into the kitchen and collapsed on the floor, leaning his back against the cabinets. Closing the door, Caroline made her way over to the other man hesitantly, taking in his appearance.

Damon was flushed and sweating slightly. He was breathing quickly and shallowly, as though he didn't have any ability to breathe normally, and his eyes were shut as he leaned his head back.

Looking expressionlessly down at the shaking man, Caroline asked a simple question. "What happened to you?"

Damon attempted to swallow again and he looked up at Caroline. For the longest time, he said nothing, his borderline hyperventilation the only sound in the room.

Caroline tried again. "What happened to you?"

Damon looked away and muttered: "I killed her and she had vervain in her blood. And I'm drunk."

Caroline shut her eyes and took a deep breath. "I can see that, and smell it too." she said, sounding surprisingly calm. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." he replied bluntly.

"Are you sure?"

"Fuck yes, okay? I'm fine."

"Calm down," Caroline said softly, looking totally unphased. "What's got you so torn up that you're out killing again?"

"None of your business."

Caroline nodded and stepped over Damon to get to the cabinets. Pulling out a glass, she filled it water and knelt down.

"Drink," she said, offering Damon the glass.

Damon took it in a shaking hand and almost dropped it. Sighing, Caroline wrapped her hand around Damon's and helped him hold the glass, aiding the man as he drank greedily. She pulled the glass away from Damon's lips after a moment, much to the brunette's discontent. "That's enough for now."

Damon's arms fell back to his sides like lead. He looked like he didn't care enough to argue.

"Come on," Caroline said, sliding an arm back around Damon's waist and getting ready to stand. "Let's get you to bed."

Slowly, they hobbled to her bedroom and Caroline shoved aside the covers with one hand, laying Damon down on the bed. With a stony expression, she pulled of Damon's shoes and set them aside, next divesting him of his blood-stained shirt. She tried her damnedest not to blush as she undressed him, but it was hard. Luckily, he was too drunk to notice anyway.

She lifted Damon's legs and slid them under the covers, pulling the sheets up to cover him.

"I don't need to go to bed," Damon grumbled suddenly, Caroline just rolled her eyes.

"Sure you don't. Shut up and go to sleep."

"Are you gonna tell on me?"

Caroline stared down at the man on her bed, his bright blue eyes found hers and she didn't know what to say.

"We'll talk about this when you're sober," Caroline said, trying to dodge the question.

Damon's eyes were already starting to droop. Caroline knew he would be out like a light soon.

"Why'd you help me?"

"I'll tell you if you tell me why you came here."

Damon stared at her for a long moment, seemingly indecisive about answering. "I don't have any other friends,"

Caroline didn't know what to say to that. He didn't have any _other_ friends? Did that mean that Damon thought she was a friend? That seemed too warped to be true. Caroline opened her mouth to say something, but he noticed that Damon's eyes had closed and his breathing had finally slowed.

Shaking her head, she stepped out of the room and closed the door.

Two hours later, Caroline heard the sounds of throwing up coming from the bathroom down the hall.

She rubbed her temples and stood from the couch, stopping to fill up another glass of water in the kitchen then making her way to the bathroom. Damon was doubled over the toilet, shaking almost violently.

Caroline set the water next to him and went about finding a spare toothbrush and towel. Damon moaned softly and fell away from the toilet, leaning against the wall. He was shaking, almost convulsively.

"You killed someone."

It wasn't a question, but a statement. It was obvious that Damon was suffering from a massive hangover.

Damon didn't respond, but he didn't need to. Caroline reached over and flushed the toilet before a washcloth and kneeling in front of him. Slowly and methodically, she wiped at Damon's face, wiping the sweat from his brow and cleaning around his mouth. Damon merely watched her through exhausted eyes.

"I know you feel like shit right now," Caroline said. "But it's just the vervain working it's way out of your system. It doesn't feel like it, but you'll be okay in a couple hours." She grabbed the glass of water and handed it to Damon. "Rinse your mouth out."

Damon did as he was told and spat the water into the toilet, immediately slumping back against the wall.

"Why?"

The sound was so weak and mumbled that Caroline barely caught it. She looked back at Damon. "Can you get up and brush your teeth? I'm going to start a bath for you. I know your body hurts and it will help with the headache."

"Why are you doing this?" Damon asked softly, his voice too weak to be truly audible.

"I do a lot of things that I wish I didn't," Caroline responded simply, helping pull Damon to his feet and lead him over to the sink. She handed him the toothbrush and toothpaste before walking over to the tub and turning it on.

She heard rather than saw Damon turn on the sink and brush his teeth, so she focused on getting the tub a good temperature. A minute or so later, the sink turned off and there was a groan. Caroline turned to see Damon kneeling in front of the sink as though he simply couldn't stand anymore.

"Oh, no you don't," the blonde said, stepping away from the tub and hoisting Damon back up. She kicked the toilet seat down and sat Damon on top of it, working on removing his pants.

"I think you just want me to drown in the tub," Damon muttered.

Caroline chuckled. "Don't worry. I'm staying here in case you pass out."

"I still don't understand why you're helping me," Damon said, remaining almost boneless with the occasional chill as Caroline undressed him.

When she had finally unbuckled his belt and undone the button on his jeans, their eyes met. "You're my best friend's boyfriend's brother. It makes you family, in a really twisted, fucked up way," Caroline replied, looking away.

"I don't think you believe that for one second."

Caroline shrugged and pulled Damon up into a standing position. The brunette leaned on her for support as Caroline averted her eyes and pushed his jeans and his boxer briefs off.

Trying to suppress the urge to look, Caroline helped the other man into the tub, grateful she had added bubbles so she wouldn't have to see anything once he was in. When Damon was situated, Caroline sat down next to the tub, leaning her back against the wall.

"What's wrong?"

"You get right to the point."

Caroline glanced at Damon. "It's a valid question."

Damon pursed his lips and attempted to take a deep breath. "What's the point of being a vampire if I can't even handle a little vervain?"

"Everyone has weaknesses." Caroline shrugged. "Why didn't you stop...from killing that girl even when you knew she had vervain in her system?"

"She pissed me off. And she ran." he responded.

"Oh. Well, that's your own fault then."

Damon was about to say something, but he shifted and slipped in the tub, causing Caroline to jump up and wrap an arm around his back, holding him above the water. The entire right side of her shirt was soaked and Damon's eyes were covered with dark, wet locks from the splash.

Both breathing heavily in surprise, they stayed in that position for a moment, close together as Caroline held him up. Caroline let go with one hand to reach up and brush the hair from Damon's face, revealing the icy, endless eyes that she still couldn't fathom. Still, neither of them let go of each other.

Caroline slid her fingers into Damon's hair slowly, cupping his head as one would something delicate.

"Caroline, don't."

The sound of Damon using her actually name was so ridiculously shocking that Caroline had to bite her lip to keep from gasping. Her heart pounded, her mind was dizzy, and her face flushed.

"Damon..."

"Don't fuck with me," Damon muttered. "I may be weak, but I'm still me. I'm still the asshole. I'm still the guy that doesn't give two-shits about anyone." His voice attempted to come out cold and harsh, but to Caroline it sounded desperate, and she tightened her grip on Damon's hair.

"I don't care."

Damon's fingers held her shirt harder. "I don't like you. I won't ever like you."

Caroline shook her head. "I don't care," she repeated. "I don't want you to like me." she lied bitterly, much to her

"What about human boytoy?"

The question was a stab to her heart, but Caroline didn't back away. "It's different."

"How?"

"I love him. I don't love you."

"Even _I_ know this is wrong," Damon stated, his grip never loosening around Caroline's shoulders.

"I know it is. You've never complained before."

It was so wrong. So unbelievably wrong, but there was nothing Caroline could have wanted more at that moment. Nothing in her life had ever grabbed her so completely. All she knew, at that moment, while Damon was fragile and weak, no matter how big of an ass he was, she wanted to kiss him.

"I don't like you," Damon muttered. One of his hands slid up to her cheek, cupping it before slipping to tangle in her pale hair.

"I don't like you either," Caroline murmured, her face inching closer to his.

Their lips touched before either of them could say anything else, but it wasn't like the previous kisses. This one was slower, more precise. Their tongues tangles together and they moaned in each others arms, hands carding through hair and eyes shut tightly.

Maybe it was because Damon was weak and exhausted. Maybe it was because Caroline was confused and tired. Maybe it was because they hadn't argued first. Whatever it was, it was nothing like before. And that was frightening.

It was nowhere near loving, but it held so many unspoken emotions. It was simply a slow, burning passion that was restricted by Damon's weakness and Caroline's inability to think straight. As their lips and tongues pressed together again and again, Caroline felt lost against Damon's skin. It was maddening. Her mind was blank, her skin was on fire, and it was only a simple kiss.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, they pulled apart, gasping for air.

"The water's cold," Damon said, frowning.

Shaking her head, Caroline reached for the towel and unplugged the drain. She helped Damon stand and began to dry him off, running his towel-covered hands over the man's body. Damon simply smirked at her.

"Been wanting to do that for a long time, have you?" the brunette inquired.

Caroline grinned. "Clean up your sorry, drunk ass? No. Not really."

Damon rolled his eyes, completely unoffended by the comment. "As much as I'd love you continue this conversation, I'm about to fall over again." Damon took the towel from her and wrapped it around his waist. The smaller woman helped him out of the tub and to the bedroom, before turning back to the bathroom to grab his undergarments. Caroline returned back to her room, trying to find where she had thrown his shirt from before.

"Don't think this means I'm going to be nice to you." Surprised, Caroline turned around from where she stood.

"I'd be worried if you were." Caroline turned back to the bathroom, grabbing the glass of water and a bottle of pills from the medicine cabinet over the sink. When she arrived back, Damon had dressed himself once again, and was sitting on the edge of the bed, his head seemingly heavy as his gaze was trained on the floor.

"Don't go all prissy on me when I'm back to normal."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Caroline grabbed the towel he had discarded on the bed next to him and proceeded to dry his hair. "Take these," she said, handing him two pills she had retrieved from the bottle. "They'll knock you out," she said softly, before helping him with the glass of water once again, then laying him back down and covering him back up. She made a move to turn away, but was stopped when Damon caught her wrist.

"I'd appreciate it if this stayed between the two of us." he slurred, his other hand coming to rest on his forehead. "Holy crap, Blondie. What the hell did you give me?" he asked, feeling suddenly dizzy. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to kill me."

Caroline rolled her eyes, but couldn't help the smile that graved her lips. "They're these super strong sleeping pills that my mom takes, works like a charm with a little alcohol."

"Caroline..." he trailed off, his eyes rolling back before he regained focus on the blonde. "Y-you..."

"Just go to sleep," she said, taking hold of his hand on her wrist and releasing herself from his grasp. She turned herself around once more and made her way to the bedroom door, pausing to look back at the now peacefully slumbering man.

Caroline didn't understand why she had helped him or why she had kissed him, but then again, she didn't understand why Damon had come to her in the first place. This was an entirely complicated mess, but Caroline couldn't bring herself to worry about it at the moment, not while Damon was in her house.

A/N: Ahhhh, sorry for the shortness! I'm deciding how I'm gonna play out the last few episodes of season 2, while still having a storyline for Damon and Caroline. Hopefully I'll update soon! Writing is seriously getting HARDER and HARDER. But, I think I have a general idea of what I want to happen. For now, reviews are love.


	10. One Hundred Sleepless Nights

A/N: Sorry it took a while this time. I was thinking of where I wanted to continue the story on. This starts out after Jenna's funeral in 2x21. I know I skipped a bunch, but I didn't really think I could develop the story in the previous episodes. Anyway, enjoy!

Once again, Caroline lay awake in her bed, the cold sheets caressing her skin as she shifted restlessly, trying to sneak in just a little more sleep before she had to get up and face the world again. She had found that she hadn't been able to sleep well in the last few days, and it had started to affect her energy levels and mood.

She couldn't remember much of what happened over the previous couple of days, so much had happened that it all kind of melded together and was a blur, expect for small flashes of memory; Damon showing up unannounced at her house and spending the night, Tyler coming back into town, waking up with her arms chained to a wall, Damon rescuing her and Tyler, finding out that Matt knew that she was a vampire, almost getting eaten by Tyler again, Matt breaking up with with her, something about the curse being broken, Klaus escaping, Elena coming back to life as a human because Jonathan Gilbert had sacrificed himself to save her, and finally Jenna and Jonathan's funeral. She couldn't process it all and had chosen to take some time to herself after making sure that Elena was okay - Stefan and Bonnie had stayed with her.

She had completely avoided Damon, her face flushing when she thought back on the conversation they had shared the morning after he had spent the night. She had woken up in her bed alone, which surprised Caroline, since she had fallen asleep on the couch, and she briefly wondered if Damon had carried her to bed. What had surprised her even more was that Damon was still at her house. And after a few awkward moments of silence, he had thanked her for taking care of him, which had been completely out of character. Of course, the moment was ruined when Damon made a snarky comment regarding the kiss they had shared and Caroline rolled her eyes, telling him that it was never going to happen again and that she had had a momentary lapse in her judgement. Matt was it for her, she had told him. And she didn't want to risk ruining it for someone like Damon. He had laughed, asking her if she thought that Matt would be able to satisfy her needs and make her happy, and after a few moments of heated argument, much to her dismay, Damon had silenced her with another kiss.

For a split moment, she could feel the ghost of his soft lips against her own, and it almost made her yearn for...the thought was left unfinished, trailing off as she mentally chided herself for thinking about him once again. She hated that there was a smal part of her that wanted him; that same part that had told her to run back to Damon when Matt had broken up with her. But she had pushed that part of her away, deciding that she wouldn't give Damon the satisfaction of knowing that Matt had left her. For now, she had settled with her decision of avoiding him, realizing that it was a better idea to limit her interaction with him.

But as she turned over onto her back and stretched her arms above her head, all thoughts dissolved as she lowered her arms back down to the bed, blinking in the brightness of the room to make sure that what she was seeing was really there and not just her sleep deprived mind playing tricks on her. She sat up, not caring that the sheets slipped away, revealing her barely covered body to the chilly room, her gaze focused on the neatly folded note sitting on the foot of her bed. Caroline crawled forward on the bed until she was at the edge, her fingers reaching out to pick up the thick, card-stock paper, smiling softly at the precisely written letter of her name that graced the canvas.

She hastily unfolded the note. _'Blondie,'_ it read, and Caroline felt something unexplainable rising in her stomach when he realized that Damon had written the letter. She continued on, _'I'm sorry. For everything. I really hope that the quarterback can make you happy.'_ Caroline eyed the letter in disbelief. She didn't understand why Damon had felt compelled to write something to genuine and earnest, and it surprised her. She inspected the letter closely, looking for the _'just kidding, I hate you, you useless piece of shit,' _that was expected from Damon, but she found nothing else.

She could only ponder on his actions for a moment longer before her thoughts were interrupted by the familiar tone of her cell phone ringing. She moved backwards on her bed, reaching toward the nightstand and grabbing her buzzing phone, laying back down as she held the phone to her ear, the hand holding the note held above her head as she further examined it.

"Hello?" she inquired, clearing her throat when her voice came out slightly raspy. And when she received no reply, she pulled the phone away from her ear, looking away from the letter momentarily to glance at the screen that now read _'Call in Progress: Stefan Salvatore'. _She brought the phone back to her ear, "Stefan?"

_'Yeah, hey Caroline.' _she heard his voice through the receiver.

Intrigued as to why he was calling, she held the phone closer to her ear. "Yes Stefan?"

There was a sigh. _'Listen, I need a favor.' _By the tone in his voice, Caroline sensed that something was wrong. _'I need you to go to the house and keep an eye on Damon for me.'_

Caroline scoffed. "Are you kidding me?" she exclaimed. "Why would _I_ do that? Can't you ask someone else?" she asked him, pausing to wonder why Stefan needed someone to 'keep an eye on Damon'.

_'No, Caroline, I don't trust anyone else. I'm staying with Elena tonight, otherwise I'd do it myself. You're the only one I trust with him.'_

"He's not a child, Stefan. You make it sound like babysitting a kid," she grumbled.

_'Caroline, please, just do this for me.'_

Caroline scowled to no one in particular, the desperation in Stefan's voice made had won her over, and she knew that she was going to agree. "Fine, but don't be surprised if you come home to a dead brother." She rolled her eyes, slightly annoyed that Stefan had put a damper on her plans to avoid Damon.

She heard Stefan sigh once more. _'Thank you, Caroline.'_

She ended the call and dropped both the phone and the note onto the bed beside her, before turning on her side and curling up into a ball, stuffing her face into her pillow and screaming into it. Why the hell did Stefan need someone to watch Damon? Caroline proceeded to beat her fists into the soft mattress, throwing somewhat of a tantrum, and silently asking why she had to be so nice.

After a few more moments of irritated tantrum, Caroline resigned herself to her fate and prepared for the long night ahead of her.

***

As Caroline pulled up into the driveway of the Salvatore house, she felt her breathing become shallow. The entire drive over, she had been trying to calm herself down, telling herself that she would not do anything stupid while she was around Damon. She noticed that Stefan's car was nowhere to be found, as she had expected, and she found herself hoping that agreeing to Stefan's request didn't backfire on her.

Stepping out of her car, she made her way up the stone stairway, stopping when she reached the door. She was about to ring the doorbell, but instead, grabbed the door handle and opened the door, mentally telling herself that they really needed to learn how to lock the door. Biting her lower lip, she pushed the door completely, the hinges creaking loudly, and she walked into the dimly lit house.

"Damon?" she called out quietly, deciding that she should make her presence known. The house was eerily quiet, and Caroline wondered for a moment if Damon was even there, secretly hoping that he wasn't so she wouldn't have to face him. She suddenly heard a crash from somewhere in the house, the sound loud as it echoed through the house, her eyes shooting to the dark hallways up the stairs. With bated breath, she followed the sound.

"Damon?" she called again, her voice rising as she climbed the stairs, her eyes searching for any sign of him. She noticed that there was a dim, golden light, illuminating from Damon's room, and she hesitantly opened the door, gasping at the sight before her.

Her eyes settled on the floor before her, bring her hand up to her mouth as she took in the sight of the shattered glass that lay scattered about his room. Accompanying that were book that were torn to shreds, as well as broken lamps and overturned furniture. The curtains were torn from her respective rods and the harsh light from the sun blared in from the uncovered windows.

Her eyes then focused on the king-sized bed in the room, seeing the one man that had kept her awake for the past couple nights.

There, in all his glory, was Damon Salvatore, his right cheek lying against the black satin covered pillow, one of his arms hanging off the side of his bed, an almost empty bottle of bourbon still clutched loosely between his fingers. It was then that she realized that most of the shattered glass on the floor were bottles of alcohol that she assumed he had consumed by himself.

Caroline shook her head, not understand what she was seeing in front of her. For a second, she thought about leaving, feeling like she was intruding, but she knew her curiosity of why Stefan had sent her wasn't going to go away, and seeing Damon in that state had just added to her curiosity instead of quenching it.

Lifting her head up in determination, she carefully made her way across the room, avoiding the glass as much as she could, stopping when she took a good long look at him.

He looked more pale than usual, his skin a sharp contrast to the dark sheets beneath him. His eyes were closed, but she could see that sleep had eluded him like it did her by the dark tint that lay under his eyes.

Bringing her hand down slowly, she reached for the stands of his hair that fell against his forehead. She felt her fingers tingle, and she retracted them, pausing, but finally allowing herself to touch him as she brushed the dark strands away from his face.

Gazing upon him with a tilt of her head, she felt her stomach tighten and her breath hitched in her throat at the feeling of his soft sking beneath her fingertips and she was slightly startled by her reaction to his nearness.

Before she could do anything else, she gasped audibly as she felt Damon's arm come up and wrap his hand around her wrist. She tried to pulled away, but his grip only tightened.

Through half-lidded eyes, Damon looked up and Caroline met his gaze, feeling her face heat up.

"Caroline...?" Damon's voice was hoarse and quiet as he spoke, his grip loosening on her wrist. "What are you...when did you...?"

"I...um, the door was unlocked." she mumbled as she watched him sit up, embarrassed that she had been caught. He crinkled his forehead, taking a moment to let her words sink in.

"Okay, but what are you doing here?" he asked slowly.

"I," she bagan slowly, "Stefan sent me to keep an eye on you." she paused, watching him as he grabbed for his head, most likely feeling heavy from the hangover he undoubtedly had. "However, clearly, you can take care of yourself, so I think I'm just gonna go," With that explanation, she turned to leave, walking hastily towards to exit of his room.

"Wait a minute," he called out after her, rising from the bed and speeding over to grab her arm, spinning her around. "_Stefan_ sent you? He told you?"

Swallowing hard, she looked up at him, confused by his inquiry. "Stefan told me what, exactly?"

"Tell him I don't need a babysitter, I'm fine." he rebutted, ignoring her question. "Especially not one that watches me while I'm sleeping,"

"I wasn't watching you sleep..." she mumbled under her breath, lowering her eyes and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "But what was Stefan supposed to tell me?"

Damon breathed out, exasperated. "Stefan is just being...Stefan. It doesn't even matter."

"Damon..." she began slowly. "Why did Stefan need me to keep an eye on you? And why are you so upset?"

Damon sighed, taking a step back as he rubbed his hands against her face. "What makes you think I'm upset?" Caroline rolled her eyes, sensing the sarcasm that dripped from his words.

"Damon..."

"Did you get my note?" he asked suddenly as his eyes fixed on her.

"What?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows, her head shaking slightly.

He took another step forward, causing her to take a step back, and the two of them repeated their actions until Caroline had backed herself into a wall. "You heard me," he whispered. "Did you get my note?"

She had yet to come to terms with the fact that Damon had been the one to leave the sincere letter that she had found on her bed, and she didn't know how to react to the words he had written. It was extremely out of character, why was he trying to make amends now? She felt, more than saw, his arm raise, his hand cupping her left cheek as he looked at her. "Yes." she replied simply.

Caroline made a movement to step around him, but Damon only pressed closer, blocking her path effectively, and she vaguely decided that maybe it was a mistake to show up unannounced. She made a note to yell at Stefan later. He grabbed her arm, turning her to face him. "Don't run away from me, Caroline."

Her eyes widened in shock. The desperate tone in his surprised her, and it almost sounded like Damon was pleading with her. He sighed deeply once more, before leaning down and resting his head against Caroline's shoulder, and moving his arms to encircle her waist loosely.

Caroline remained stiff in his arms, unsure of what to do in his arms. Too many emotions were racing through her mind. "Why are you so upset?" she prodded once again, finding to need to know why Stefan was so worried about him. Damon's unusual behavior had begun to worry her as well, and she could swear that she could feel him trembling against her.

"I'm dying, blondie." he said quietly.

The words fell on deaf ears and she simply stared, unblinking and unmoving. What did he mean he was dying? Caroline brought her arms up, placing them upon his shoulders and pushing him back sharply, searching his eyes wildly. "What do you mean you're dying?"

Damon remained silent and merely gestured to his left arm, and looked down and caught site of the grotesque mass of decaying skin what was barely peeking out beneath the fabric of his shirt, she gasped, grabbing the sleeve of his shirt and yanking in upwards.

"Is that a-?"

"Yep," he replied. "Your little wolfboy got me the other night."

Caroline's jaw clenched and she looked away. Tyler had bitten Damon, and now he was going to die. She could think of nothing to say, so she tightened her grip on his shoulders and stared at the ground, her eyes darting back and forth as Damon's words sank in. Damon was going to die in a couple hours.

Even in how obvious it had been, Caroline had never been more stunned. It seemed almost surreal, and with a heavy heart, she realized that _she_ was the reason that Damon had been bitten. She had been the one that insisted that he save Tyler, she had been the one that Tyler tried to attack, and Damon had jumped in front of her. Damon had saved her, and now he was going to die. A horrendous guilt twisted in her chest.

Damon had saved her, and there was nothing she could do to save him. Caroline shook her head slightly and she bit her lip, feeling her face flush. She blinked and two unwanted tears made their way down her cheeks as the stood in silence.

It was Damon who broke the silence. "Jesus, blondie. Don't cry." he said. "I can't deal with that." Much to her shame, Caroline felt more tears make their way down her face as her cheat heaved with a soundless sob. "It's not you're fault, you know," he said.

And Caroline shook her head. "Y-yes, it is." she sniffled. "Ty-tyler was coming for me, an-and you saved me...why?" she stuttered between sobs.

"I'll always protect you, Caroline." Her eyes widened in disbelief, and she was surprised when Damon's hand came up to her face, wiping away the tears that were streaming down her reddened cheeks.

The fact that Damon was being so nice didn't help the situation, in fact, it made her feel ten times worse, and suddenly his letter made completely sense to her. He had accepted his fate, and was now seeking closure. The thought made Caroline cry harder, and she shut her eyes tightly, shaking her head.

"You need to stop blaming yourself," he said firmly, grabbing her chin and turning her head back to face him.

"What makes you think I'm blaming myself?"

"Absolutely everything," he supplied knowingly, sliding his hand from her chin back to her cheek. "It's obvious that you think this is your fault."

"Am I that transparent?" she asked.

Damon snorted. "Fuck yes."

Caroline moved arms, raising them up to wrap around his neck, hesitantly pulling him into her embrace, burying her damp face in his shoulder. There was movement and she feared that he would pull away as the gesture was far too intimate for them, but then there was hand, resting on the small of her back, holding her in place. She held on tighter, inhaling his scent and silently enjoying the feeling of his body against hers. She vaguely thought that this could possibly be the last time that she would be around Damon, but she quickly shook the thought from her head.

"I don't want you to die," she mumbled into the fabric of his shirt, and her words had surprised the both of them, Caroline realizing that despite all the horrendous things he had done to her, Damon had inadvertently become a part of her life, and she couldn't imagine life without him in it.

They were both startled when the sound of a cell phone went off. Caroline pulled back, wiping the tears from her face, and pulled her her phone from her pocket, looking at the screen. Damon also looked down, reading the called ID, and before she could protest, Damon had taken the phone from her and answered. "Hello, little brother."

_'Where's Caroline?' _she heard through the phone.

"She's a little busy right now," he replied, causing her to tense up. Well, at least, normal jackass Damon was back.

_'Don't be an asshole, Damon. Stop fucking around with her,'_ And Damon laughed in reply.

"Yeah, yeah. Well, I'm fine. In case, you were wondering. Your little babysitter is doing a _great _job."

_'Just stay in the house, Damon,'_ Stefan warned, and Damon rolled his eyes.

"Whatever you say, little bro." He clicked the 'end call' button and held the phone towards Caroline. She reached out to take it back from him, but instead, Damon caught her hand in his. "Does this mean you forgive me, blondie? For the whole using you as a blood bag, calling you useless, and all the other crap?"

It suddenly dawned on Caroline that if she hadn't known that Damon had been bitten, it was highly improbable that the others knew. "Does Elena know you're dying?" The words still sounded foreign on her lips, and he narrowed his eyes at her.

"No, and she's doesn't. And you're not going to tell her." he demanded. "She's not going to find out until I'm long gone," His words sent a shiver throughout her body, but she nodded slowly.

"You should really apologize to her, you know." she suggested. "But not in a letter, you should tell her in person, it's a little more personal that way,"

"Aww, is that what you want?" he teased, and Caroline rolled her eyes, pushing at his chest playfully.

"Shut up, Damon." She tried to turn away from him, but was stopped when Damon grabbed her wrist, twisting her back toward him, his free hand sliding into her hand as he pulled her toward him, placing an unexpected kiss upon her lips.

*** 

Caroline had spent the rest of the day with Damon, forcing him to clean up his room, and trying to keep the mood between them light and playful. Damon's impending death still loomed overhead, but Caroline pushed the thought away, deciding that she needed a distraction, and so did Damon. She couldn't help gazing at him sadly throughout the day, but every time Damon caught her doing so, he would surprise her with a kiss. It had angered her, but they ended up laughing each time.

When the night came upon them, Caroline had fallen asleep with Damon's arms around her, reveling in the warmth that he provided. But when he awoke the next morning, she had been gone. 

A/N: This isn't the end! I promise. Still have more chapters to write. Sorry for the OOC-ness near the end. But I hope you enjoyed. As always, lovelies, reviews are love. :]


	11. The Things You Were

A/N: I am soooo sorry for the delay. I had a really terrible time writing this chapter, and I'm still not really happy with it, but I can't tweak it anymore without driving myself crazy. Anyway, there's a WHOLE lot happening in this chapter, and it's a lot different from the show. Soooo, enjoy!

Caroline was horrified. "No more, please!" she cried, shaking her head vehemently. She was on her knees, her head hanging heavily, her eyes shut tightly, trying with all her might to block out the pain from the injuries she had recently sustained. One of the two other vampires knelt in front of her, grabbing her blonde hair roughly, wrenching her head back and exposing her throat. He delicately ran the tip of the wooden stake in his hand along the pale, almost bruised column of Caroline's neck, making her gasp in fear.

"I like it when you beg, so please continue," the vampire whispered darkly, his eyes narrowing as he watched Caroline.

"Fuck you!" she managed to spit at him, taking in a ragged breath. She knew there would be consequences, and she immediately regret her words when she saw the smirk spread across his stubbled face.

The man slammed the point of the stake into her shoulder, the solid wood no doubt shattering her collarbone, and she cried out. The tears came involuntarily, and Caroline tried her best to stop them. Much to her surprise, she caught the gaze of the woman standing further into the room, and she could have sworn there was a hint of worry in her eyes.

"Klaus," she heard the other female vampire call out hesitantly. "Don't you think she's had enough?"

"Oh, shut up Katerina," he snapped in his accented voice. "I'm just having some fun," he chuckled, tearing the bloody stake from her shoulder, the sound of the blonde's sickening screams bringing a satisfied smirk upon his face.

Caroline was beginning to think that she shouldn't have gone to Alaric's apartment alone. She had left the Salvatore boarding house in the early hours of the morning, untangling her limbs from Damon's slumbering form, before making the hasty decision to track Klaus down and confront him. She knew it was a dumb idea, but the thought of Damon dying had muddled her rational thinking, and she had found her way to the apartment Klaus had been occupying.

Despite her feigned bravery, Caroline's heart had pounded in fear. When she had entered the apartment, Katherine had demanded to know why she hadn't been released from Klaus' compulsion, and then, what business Caroline had with being there. The two of them had been interrupted when Klaus made his entrance into the apartment with Elijah, and Caroline stood her ground. She had implored him to help Damon, firmly stating that there had to be something that could save him. She vaguely remembered him saying that there was another issue he had to take care of before dealing with her, and much to the shock of everyone in the room, Klaus had plunged a dagger into Elijah's chest without so much as a blink of his eye. Caroline had watched in horror, and when Klaus had turned on her, every ounce of courage she had, quickly dissipated.

_'Please,' _she had begged, and when he had laughed at her, asking why he would be so inclined to help her, it had angered her greatly, her desperation to find a cure taking over. _'I'll do anything, just please, tell me how to save him,'_

And that's how Caroline had ended up on her knees, every muscle in her body twitching in agony as Klaus continued his onslaught of torture. The stake that Klaus had just pulled from her shoulder was now being dragged across the base of her neck, and Caroline whimpered, preparing herself for the next blow. She was trying her best to make as little sound as possible, trying to refrain from giving Klaus the joy of hearing her cry out in pain.

She had given up fighting back because Klaus was an Original after all, and she didn't stand a chance against him. She would only make things worse on herself if she kept fighting, and she was already starting to feel the effects of her slow healing wounds. She fell limp, her head dropping down as she sat back on her heels.

Humiliated, she sat immobile as Klaus trailed the weapon down her side, leaning down, his free hand coming to wrap around her waist, bringing his body closer to hers, his head lowering to her ear.

"You are quite the pretty little thing, aren't you?" he snarled in her ear before he shoved the stake into her side, crushing at least two of her ribs, cradling her body as she doubled over in pain, her scream muffled into his clothed shoulder.

And all Caroline could think about was how she needed to find a way to keep Damon alive, and if getting stabbed a couple of times would save him, she would endure through the pain. She knew she was a fool to think she could take on Klaus by herself, and her body was shaking almost to the point of convulsions. She wanted to throw up.

She knew that if she looked into a mirror, the entire left side of her body would be covered in her own dried blood. She was having trouble getting in a full breath, no doubt from the many broken ribs she had suffered, and the lack of circulation in her legs from the kneeling position made her fear that she wouldn't even be able to walk even when Klaus finally released her.

She tried to pull away from Klaus, but she felt the crack of her still broken ribs and whimpered. "Please," she sobbed out. "Tell me...what you want..." her breathing was ragged, and her throat was sore from where Klaus had almost crushed her wind pipe.

"You know what intrigues me, Caroline?" Klaus said in a sing-song voice. She was too exhausted to look at him, and despite her want to escape from him, she leaned further into his mock embrace, trying to find some sort of relief for her already strained muscles. Half of her legs were numb, and the other half was in such excruciating pain that she just couldn't lean on them anymore. Through the hazy pounding of her battered head, she heard Klaus chuckle in her ear. "Why are you so willing to sacrifice yourself for Damon Salvatore?" he asked. "How do you know that I just won't kill you and be done with it? He's not worth saving."

The thought that Klaus would kill her had crossed her mind, and though she hadn't quite accepted the fact that she might die, she was past fear. All she thought of now was Damon. All she thought of was how much she wanted him to be okay, and how she wished she could see him again. Maybe if Klaus did kill her, she would see Damon again in the afterlife. Was there even an afterlife? Caroline shook the thoughts from her head; she was _not_ going to die. And she'd be damned if she didn't find a cure for Damon.

"You have to help him," she weeped. "Please..."

And then it all happened so fast. Klaus had pulled back, pulling the stake out from her side, bit into his wrist and shoved the now bleeding joint over Caroline's mouth, forcing her to drink. She actually sobbed when she tasted his blood, feeling the wounds she had endured healing rapidly. Her eyes widened as she stared into his own fierce eyes, half in relief and half in horror, wondering why he was feeding her his blood. She drank from him greedily, whimpering as she felt the bones in her body snapping back into place, but after few moments, Klaus tore his wrist away from her mouth, and stood from his position in front of her.

She stared up at him with a look of pure shock and disbelief, and she spoke out in a croaked, weak voice.

"Klaus?" she shifted her gaze between Klaus' standing form, to Katherine's matching look of shock. Klaus turned on her once again, reaching down and wrapping his hand around Caroline's throat, pulling her up into a standing position. Caroline's hand shot up to cover his, trying to pry herself free from his forceful grip.

"You want to save Damon?" Klaus began, and Caroline peered into his dark eyes, fearing that he was going to kill her in that instant. And she couldn't look away from him when the pupils of his eyes began to dilate then contract. She began to panic as the vice grip around her neck tightened, Klaus was going to compel her, and she hadn't been taking the vervain that Stefan had given her. "Run back to your little friends and tell Stefan that if he wants his brother to survive, he'll come have a little chat with me."

***

Caroline was standing outside of Elena's house door. Just standing there.

She wasn't knocking, or ringing the doorbell, or even breathing loud enough for Stefan or Elena to hear her.

She was just standing there, completely petrified of what she was about to do.

She knew what she had to do. She wasn't sure about it. She wasn't confident in it. She didn't even know if it was the right thing to do.

All she knew was that this is what she _had_ to do. This is what she had to do to save Damon.

Now it was only a matter of confronting Stefan, and getting him to go along with the plan. That was the hard part, it seemed. And apparently her breathing was louder than she thought it was, because the door swung open to reveal a very confused Stefan.

"Caroline, what happened to you?" Stefan demanded, stepping out of the house and closing the door behind him. Caroline had completely forgotten that she was still covered in her own dried blood, and she must've looked like a wreck to him, but she quickly brushed off his question, concentrating on the mission she had been given.

"I need you to do something for me," she said nervously. Her hand went up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, and Stefan noticed the movement with regard, knowing that Caroline liked to tug on her hair when she was anxious about something.

"Caroline, what are you talking about? Are you alright? Did Damon do this to you last night?" he asked worriedly as they both stood in cool air of the day.

Caroline shook her head vigorously. "No, no, no. Damon didn't-" she raised her hands in the air. "Not the point. I need you to go to Ric's place. Klaus is there."

Stefan frowned deeply, looking at the blonde, his eyebrows furrowed. "You need me to do what?" he asked through gritted teeth, trying to keep his voice low. "What did you do, Caroline?" She saw the anger flash momentarily through his eyes, but it was soon replaced with an intense unsettlement.

"I didn't do anything!" she defended, "I just - none of that is important. I just need you to go there, Stefan."

"You're not making any sense, Caroline. Why do you need me to go there? Is Klaus the one that hurt you?" he practically demanded, grasping onto both of her arms, and holding her in place firmly as if he were scolding her. Caroline's vague answers were extremely strange to him, and they had done nothing to ease his worry.

"I..." she began thoughtfully. "I don't - Klaus said that you needed to go there." she cried out, exasperated. Her stomach twisted with nervousness. "Please Stefan, I need you to do this for me. He said that - it's the only way that he'll help Damon." she begged, tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. "I can't explain, I just need you to save him. _Please._"

Stefan shut his eyes and took a deep breath, his grip loosening on Caroline's arms. "You know, Damon tried to kill himself this morning. I had to lock him in the cellar." Caroline's eyes widened. Damon had tried to kill himself? A part of her regret sneaking out of the house earlier that morning and leaving Damon by himself, but she hadn't been thinking rationally since the moment she found out that he was dying. "He doesn't think he's going to survive this." he sighed once again, "Fine, I'll go, but I need you to stay with Elena while I'm gone. I need you to distract her."

"What? No, I want to come with you!" she protested, her voice raising. Stefan made a gesture to keep her voice down, and Caroline shut her mouth immediately, not wanting to alarm Elena inside the house. "Stefan," she said in a lower tone. "I need to come with you."

"Caroline, no. Look at what he did to you already, I can handle him by myself."

"But, Stefan-"

"No buts, Caroline." he interrupted, his tone distinct and unwavering. "Damon is _my_ brother. He should be my responsibility. Besides, Elena needs her friend."

Caroline sighed in defeat and nodded her head, knowing that there was no way Stefan was going to bring her with him, regardless of how much she pleaded with him. Caroline would agree to to any of Stefan's terms, as long as it meant that he was going to go along with the plan, as long as it meant that Damon was going to be okay. "Fine, yes. I'll stay. Just please, save him, Stefan."

"I told him that I was going to find a cure..." he replied quietly. "You didn't have to go to Klaus, you know. I was going there anyway." Caroline looked up at him through tearful eyes, and the steadfast look in his amber eyes told her that he was not going to let his brother die. She all but sobbed, relieved that he had agreed to her request. Stefan's gaze softened when he saw the tears spilling from her eyes, and he wrapped his arms around her trembling frame, pulling her into his embrace. "Damon's going to be fine, Caroline." Stefan said assuredly, resting his chin on top of her head. "Ric is with him right now."

Caroline cried harder in Stefan's arms, unable to control the roller-coaster of emotions she had suppressed for the majority of the day. But as Stefan comforted her, Caroline felt like her heart had just been put in a vice.

This didn't feel right.

***

Caroline was sitting on the floor of her bedroom, eyes wide and unblinking as she stared blankly at the wall in front of her.

It had been a several hours since Stefan had left for Alaric's apartment, and in that time frame, so much had happened. She had taken Elena and Jeremy to the showing of 'Gone With The Wind' in the town square, since Elena had been insistent on 'getting out of the house'. She had resisted the urge to call Alaric to see how Damon was doing many times throughout the day, but some time into the movie, Elena disappeared and when Alaric called Jeremy, they both learned the Elena was now missing and that her mother had gone to the Salvatore house and accidentally released him from the cell.

She knew that Damon had to be somewhere with Elena, and when she found out the Jeremy had found Damon and taken him to The Grill, she and Bonnie had rushed over, only to find that her mother had tried to shoot Damon, and instead, shot and killed Jeremy. She had tried feeding him her blood, to save him, against her mother's protests, but to no avail. Alaric arrived shortly after, and he and Bonnie took Jeremy to the witch house.

Caroline had fought with her mother, arguing with her about her actions. She had assured her mother that Jeremy was going to be okay, and when she received the phone call from Bonnie, saying the Jeremy was indeed alive, she had resisted to urge to yell at her mother when she questioned how all this was possible. She had told her mother that she was still the same person, that she was still her daughter, and she was extremely relieved when her mother finally hugged her back.

Elena had then texted her, telling her that she had found Damon and taken him back to the boarding house. Elena had insisted on staying with him, and Caroline could only agree. Damon probably didn't want her to be there, especially if Elena was there. She had squashed down the twinge of jealousy she felt and instead, focused on the fact that she had still received no word from Stefan.

She had tried calling him, but he didn't answer. And she had screamed at him in a voicemail, calling him an idiot for not answering his phone before she hung up. It was an hour after that when she received another text message from Elena. She had said that Damon was going to live, and Caroline breathed a deep sigh of relief. Stefan had succeeded...but the relief was chased away when that text was followed by another saying something about Stefan sacrificing himself, and that Katherine had told her that Stefan probably wasn't going to be coming back any time soon. What was that supposed to mean?

She immediately tried calling Stefan again; no answer. She texted him; no answer. What could Katherine have meant that Stefan wasn't coming back? Where did he go? She couldn't help but feel she was responsible for whatever had happened to Stefan. Klaus had compelled her to tell Stefan, knowing that Stefan wouldn't turn down a chance to save his brother, and there was nothing Caroline could have done to stop herself from begging him to go. A couple of minutes passed before she called again, throwing her phone against the wall in anger when she received his voicemail once more.

A few tears dropped past her eyelids undetected and wiped them away hastily. She wished the panic would go away. She had never felt so ashamed for her own stupidity. She shouldn't have let Stefan go so easily. How could she have been so stupid? She knew that she had been compelled, but she should've insisted to go with him, gone as back up, or something. She couldn't believe how ridiculously stupid she had been.

Now Stefan was missing, and she had no idea where. Alaric had long since informed them that Klaus was no longer at his apartment, and Stefan was no where to be found. Who knew where he could be?

A sob escaped Caroline's lips and the tears poured down her face now. She felt humiliated for acting this way, but she couldn't stop herself. She had been so worried about Damon that she had put one of her best friends in danger without a second thought.

She sat against the wall of her room, her knees curled to her chest as she sobbed quietly to herself. Two more hours passed, and still, Stefan hadn't called her back.

Ten more minutes and she was going to call someone.

Twenty more minutes and she was going to break down.

Thirty minutes and she was going to start throwing things.

She need to call someone. She needed to call _Damon_. She needed to tell him.

She struggled to her feet and stumbled over to the other side of her room, grabbing the phone she had thrown earlier. She knew her voice was going to give her away, but she couldn't afford to wait for Stefan any longer. He wasn't coming back. She knew in her heart that Stefan wasn't coming back, and if Stefan wasn't going to answer his phone, she had to call Damon. She knew that he most likely wasn't in the mood to deal with her, after his near death experience, but she needed to tell someone what she had done.

The phone rang five times and still no answer. Caroline just about lost her ming, thinking that he was still busy with Elena when Damon finally answered.

"Damon?" she croaked out. The relief she felt at hearing Damon's voice was overshadowed by the immense guilt she felt.

_'Blondie?'_

"Yeah."

_'Are you crying?'_

Caroline slid a hand across her face, haphazardly wiping tears away as though Damon could see her. "It doesn't matter. Can I come over?"

_'Why are you asking? You always come over without asking anyway.'_

Caroline couldn't find the will to respond, so she just ended the call and made her way to the bathroom, trying to make it look like she hadn't been crying on and off for the past couple hours.

***

"What do you mean you begged him to go to Klaus!?" Damon exclaimed loudly, startling the two women in the living room.

Caroline stood uncomfortably, and looked away. She looked a mess. Even though she had tried to fix herself up, it was obvious that she wasn't taking the situation well. Her hair was mussed and her eyes were red, accompanied by a deep, agonized frown of guilt and worry.

"I thought he was going to be okay." she said quietly, appearing more subdued than Damon had ever seen her. "I didn't think anything was going to happen."

"Well something did happen!" Damon shouted. "Stefan is fucking _gone_, Caroline! Who knows where he is. How could you let this hap-"

"Damon!" It wasn't Caroline who yelled this, but Elena, who had been quietly listening as Damon chastised the blonde. It was because of this that Damon was startled silent, turning around to give the brunette an incredulous look.

Elena looked pointedly over at Caroline and Damon followed her gaze, finally noticing that Caroline had turned her head away in the most dignified way she could to try and hide the silent tears that were running down her face.

"I'm sorry." Caroline shook her head. "You're right. I'm a fucking idiot. I should've never..." she mumbled, the end of her sentence trailing off, knowing that there really was nothing she could've done to stop herself.

"How did Klaus even get involved in this?" Elena asked her calmly, taking a step toward the blonde.

"I...went to Ric's apartment. I confronted him...this is all my fault." Caroline said, not meeting Elena's eyes.

"Well, you're right there." Damon snapped.

"Damon. Stop." Elena scolded. "She couldn't have known that something would happen," Elena said quietly. "He went there to save _you._"

"I'm such an idiot." Caroline mumbled. "I'm really sorry Elena, I wasn't thinking-"

"That's your problem Blondie, you never think!" Damon barked at her, and she lowered her head in shame.

Elena shot Damon a glare, frowning before she turned back to Caroline, placing her hands on her shoulders. "We need to find him, Care. Do you have any idea where they could be?"

"I...I'm not sure." she thought back on her encounter with Klaus and shuddered, remembering the look of pure elation on his face as he plunged a stake into her body. "Klaus said something about reuniting their family...right before he killed Elijah. I'm sorry...I don't know."

"Well, if they're still in town, maybe Bonnie can use the locator spell to track them." Elena suggested hopefully. "Or maybe Katherine knows? She was there right?" Caroline nodded.

"She probably skipped town right after she left here," Damon suggested, rolling his eyes. Caroline's shoulders slumped, and she felt her heart sinking further.

Elena looked up and glanced between Damon and Caroline, her expression one of determination and focus. She was trying to be strong, when she was actually devastated that her boyfriend had gone missing, and everyone in the room knew it. "Alright, I'm going to find Bonnie. Damon," she turned to him, "Can you see if you can get ahold of Katherine? We can't waste time just standing here." Damon scoffed, but nodded at Elena.

"I'm sorry, Elena." Caroline whispered, feeling as if she were the worst person alive. No wonder everyone loved Elena; Caroline was the reason that Stefan was gone, and yet, there she was, ever optimistic, and comforting her.

Heaving a heavy sigh, Elena pulled her car keys from her pocket and nodded. With that, she walked out of the house, leaving Caroline alone with Damon. She stared blankly at the floor in front of her, taking in long, deep breaths. She hadn't seen Damon look so angry with her since the first time she had punched him. Thankfully, Damon was busying himself with getting a drink, so Caroline was free to basically hate herself for what she had done for a moment.

She felt nervous in that moment, and her heart was pounding loudly in her ears. The look on Damon's face when she had told him that she was the reason Stefan was gone haunted her, it made her feel sick. It was so full of anger, shock, disgust. And it was that very look that made her feel so fucking guilty that she could barely stand it.

She jumped when Damon slammed his glass down on the surface of the end table. Heart pounding, Caroline looked over to him, waiting for him to say something. When moments passed and nothing was said, Caroline broke and finally gave in.

"I'm sorry about Stefan."

It seemed that was all it took to set Damon off because the next things Caroline knew, the tall brunette was whirling around and fixing her with a scowl so vicious that it made her dizzy.

"You're sorry?" he hissed. "Do you have any idea how stupid you are?"

Caroline felt something akin to guilty anger spike in her chest. "I know, Damon!" She growled. "I already know that I'm stupid!"

"I don't think you do." Damon spat. "You have no idea what you've done."

"Really, Damon? You don't think I already feel like a jackass," she said lowly. "Stefan is my friend and I didn't want anything to happen to him, but it was the only way that Klaus was going to agree save you. I tried to do it myself, but Klaus compelled me to tell Stefan, and you know Stefan would do anything for you, but you probably don't give a shit about that. It doesn't even matter, Damon." Her words were bitter and cold.

Damon looked down, clenching his fists at his sides. "Why did you even go over there in the first place?"

Caroline sighed and looked away, sitting herself down on one of the couches in the living room. "Are you kidding? Damon, you were_ dying_."

"What does it matter to you if I live or die?" Damon asked, walking over to another couch and sitting down, putting his face in his hands. "You shouldn't have done anything."

Caroline shut her eyes and turned her face towards the ceiling as though she were seeking for words to say. "It doesn't matter anymore, okay? What's done is done."

"You like me." It was a simple statement, but to Caroline, it seemed accusatory, especially coming from Damon.

"Sure, I like you. We're friends," Caroline said with a shrug, feigning nonchalance.

Damon let out an annoyed exhale of breath and shook his head. "Caroline, shut up," he said gruffly. "You know what I mean. You actually _like_ me, don't you?"

Caroline chuckled mirthlessly and kicked her heel against the couch. "Stop asking stupid questions." They were silent for a long time after that, neither willing to say anything more.

It was Damon who broke the silence.

"Why did you sneak out?"

Caroline laughed outright at that and looked over at Damon. "Why does that matter?" she asked, smiling at the ridiculousness of Damon's question. Her smile literally fell off her face when Damon lifted his head and met her eyes, and she found herself staring, trying to figure out what this look was that Damon was giving her. "What?"

"Why am I so important to you?" Damon asked. His expression was unreadable and lips turned into a small frown.

Caroline felt her heart pound at the question. "Why the fuck are you asking me this, Damon?" She hadn't even come to terms with what Damon meant to her, and with the recent events, she hadn't even had the time to think about it.

"Because I want to know," Damon said stiffly, still not looking away.

Damon scowled and slapped and hand to her thigh to distract herself. "I don't know," she said slowly. She turned away, breaking the staring contest between the two of them. "It doesn't matter, okay? What matters is that you're alive, and that we have to find Stefan now." Caroline looked down at her clasped hands in her lap, sighing audibly. Today had been absolutely exhausting, and she wanted nothing more than to go home, crawl into bed, and stay there for the next couple days, and most of all, she wanted to avoid anything vampire-werewolf-hybrid related.

She suddenly heard movement, and in the next second, she felt Damon's palms against her cheeks, lifting her face and planting his lips against her. After a moment of shock, Caroline practically melted into the kiss, and just as she began to reciprocate, Damon was pulling away.

Their gazes met for a split second and Caroline saw emotion in his bright orbs for the first time. The moment was so brief and ethereal that she wasn't even sure it had happened. Damon's cold exterior reemerged a second later and he straightened his frame, taking a step away from her. "Get out of here, Caroline." he uttered, clenching his jaw. "You can't have feelings for me."

A/N: God, that was terrible. I'm sorry if you as unhappy as I am with his chapter. But I promise there will be more development in Damon and Caroline's relationship in the upcoming chapters! So bear with me please! As always, you guys are amazing. And reviews are love.


	12. Never Go Back

A/N: Holy crap. Sorry for the major delay. Was in the process of moving. But here's an update! Enjoy. :]

He felt like hell.

No, wait. That was an understatement.

Damon groaned, hands coming to press palms first against his pounding forehead. Sunlight was blazing directly into his eyes, a searing pain shooting through his eyelids and into his skull. Damon lay there, massing his temples until he felt strength enough to sit up and saunter over to the window and pull the curtains closed with a slap of his hand. He walked back over to his bed, falling back onto it, moaning out his misery, face buried in the depths of his plush pillow.

The night had been unkind and the morning wasn't being gentle with him. He was sore from his bare shoulders down to his legs, which was strange considering that he had done nothing strenuous. He stretched, entangling his stiff limbs in the sheets. He was certain that he hadn't slept at all. The heaviness that kept his eyes from opening fully spoke volumes. He didn't want to open them, didn't think he could, even if he wanted to. He could only lay there, listening to the lull of the street traffic, and when the heat of the room became too much, he violently kicked the sheets that were entangled between his legs away, the black satin rippling to the floor in waves. He sprawled out on the mattress, face first in his pillow, defiant to the morning beckoning him. He wanted more sleep. Not even the heavy aroma of coffee wafting under his bedroom door seemed to be enough to pry him from his pillow.

Coffee...

The scent of coffee wrapped around him, coaxing him from the grip of sleep. Even though he was tired, he knew he'd never fall back asleep now.

Damon mumbled, twisting onto his side, his bare back facing the window, the black cotton boxers he wore sagging dangerously low. One eye opened to peer over at the door as if he were expecting a cup of coffee to come walking through it and jump in bed with him.

If only that would happen...

Damon punched one of his many pillows with a balled fist, gripping it tightly and shoving it over his head. He let out a muffled growl, one that was loud even against the thick fabric. He poured out his rising frustration into it, then proceeded to throw the pillow across the room. It hit the closed door with a soft thump, then fell to the floor.

Damon drooped over limply, face planting himself firmly into the mattress. With his body half hanging off the bed, his arm draped over that it was touching the floor, he lay there, gradually slipping off. He was completely drained, the exertion to move felt like that most difficult thing in the world to him and his head felt like Stefan had gotten him with that wicked left jab of his. But he knew that was impossible...Stefan was gone, and so was Klaus. And Caroline...she was...something else.

He could still feel the soft kiss he had given her upon his lips...

Damon groaned and slid the rest of the way off the bed, falling onto the discard satin sheets with a dull thud.

He knew he was acting like a child, whining through every agonizing moment of pain. No one was there to see him though, so he did it anyway. All he really wanted to do was crawl into a hole and forget the past couple weeks had ever happened. He wasn't sure how he felt about all that had happened, but he was certain that was what was causing his ridiculous headache. He didn't want to think about Klaus, Stefan, Elena, and especially not Caroline. He didn't want to see the infuriating blonde's face, nor did he want anything more to do with her. At least, that was what he had told himself. He could not deal with anything that would complicate his life any further, and just thinking about the blonde made his temples throb.

There was a soft knock on his door before the handle was twisted and pushed open.

"Damon?"

Hearing that voice made him groan into the floor. He should've expected that Elena would show up; she had been on a search rampage since Stefan had gone missing, and she had enlisted Damon to help her track him down. He was almost fed up with the useless tracking they had done, and he was tired of Elena being so...annoying. He was too damn tired to do anything about it at the moment, however.

"Unless you brought me coffee, get the fuck out." He said bluntly, an order, not a suggestion. Damon was far too grumpy to sugar-coat.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked, seemingly unfazed by his boldness.

Was he okay? That was quite possibly the most irritating thing that she could have asked. She was begging for a bite of managed the effort to lift his head, glaring up at the brunette. The look he found on her face was almost unreadable. It was a mixture of what seemed to be confusion, bewilderment, embarrassment, worry, and entertainment, all rolled into one.

Damon smirked inwardly, realizing how scantily clothed he was just then. He must have been quite a sight for Elena to see, clad in only a skimp pair of boxers, laying on the floor in a pile of sheets. It always amused Damon to see the look on her face whenever she had caught him in a compromising position.

He rolled over and lazily stretched out the length of his body, playing out the demeaning scene for all it was worth. Damon had absolutely no shame in doing so.

When Elena's mouth fell open to silent words; it was priceless.

"Do I look okay to you?" Damon asked, hiding his grin by the careful placement of his hand on his mouth.

Elena seemed to sense his smugness because when Damon finally looked up at her again, she rolled her eyes at him. "Can you please put some clothes on and get up? We have a lot of work to do today. I think we found a lead on Stefan."

Damon's inward victory smile faded, a sneer forming on his lips. He reached up and grabbed one of the remaining pillows on his bed and lobbed it in Elena's direction.

"Go away!" He growled. reaching for another when she dodged the first. By the time he threw the second, Elena was closing the door, shaking her head as she went.

Left alone to his misery, Damon rose from the floor and sat on the edge of his bed, massaging his aching forehead. God, he did not want to get out of bed today...

***

Tyler Lockwood had learned long ago that the easiest way to get Caroline to talk was to get her drunk - or at least, significantly intoxicated.

That was how Caroline had ended up in his house, lying with her back on the floor, a goofy grin on her face. Her shirt had ridden up so that it was exposing her stomach up to her belly button; her hair was disheveled and in her face, and her eyes were glassy and half-lidded. Tyler looked down at the blonde from his perch on the couch; he was also a little intoxicated, but he was nowhere near the level of inebriation that Caroline had reached.

Tyler wondered about Caroline's urge to get drunk, wondered at the fact that it had been so easy to convince her to start. She had never been opposed to drinking, especially socially, but she wasn't someone who would habitually get drunk, at least, not that he remembered. She had been so receptive to the idea of getting drunk, as if she were trying to forget something.

Tyler wasn't sure if Caroline had succeeded in whatever she'd been trying to forget, but that strange, melancholy air that had been surrounding her had melted away into a carefree, drunken grin. And admittedly, he did achieve his goal of getting Caroline to talk, but at the same time, she didn't - because Caroline hadn't spoken anything of substance since the alcohol had first begun to take a hold of her. Her conversation had consisted mostly of rambles - not incoherent, but not relevant either.

He had almost reached the point of tuning her out, and Caroline didn't seem to notice or care; she had reached the point of inebriation that little deatils didn't bother her anymore. He current train of thought - which she saw fit to say aloud - was that she hadn't painted her nails in a really long time, and how she wanted to paint them coral, but didn't think she could pull it off.

Tyler took a sip of his beer and looked over at the television; it had been on for the past few hours, and the two of them had watched a little of it when the night had begun, before the alcohol had been suggested and consumed. It still played in the background with the sound at a very low level, so that the words that were being spoken weren't really audible. He let the television distract him as Caroline continued to speak about unconnected nonsense.

Tyler had chosen to stay in town after the whole incident with Klaus, since Jules had been killed and he no longer had anyone to travel with, and because he had missed so much, he had decided that it was best for him to stick around. A part of him stayed because he missed the life he had before he found out he was a werewolf, yet an even bigger part had told him to stay because he couldn't bare the thought of abandoning the people in his life once again. His mother had been devastated, and Caroline...Caroline had been so upset with him. But he was back now, and after the events of the past couple days, he had no intention of leaving again.

He wasn't 100% sure of what had happened when he and Caroline had parted ways after the night he had tried to attack her - he had been spending time with his mother, who was still recovering in the hospital, but he knew that the next time he had seen her, she had been morose, and almost bitter. So Tyler had taken it upon himself to find out what was wrong with her, since she had been so reluctant to tell him what was wrong.

"Tyler?" Caroline suddenly inquired, sounding a bit more focused - and it was the first time in awhile that she's addressed him directly. Tyler turned and looked at her, seeing Caroline tracing her stomach absently with her index finger and staring up at him with huge eyes.

"Yes, Caroline?"

Caroline shifted, turning so that she was on her side, her head propped up on her hand, her elbow braced against the carpet. She looked confused for a moment, as if she had forgotten what she was going to say completely, before she glanced back up again and spoke.

"Do you think I'm pretty?" Her words were laced with uncertainty, with self-consciousness, and that confused Tyler - because being drunk made Caroline silly, made her overwhelmingly random...but it never made her insecure. At least, it never had before, because she had a pretty good handle on her self-image, on her confidence. She wasn't cocky, but she knew when she looked good, she knew when she had the right to brag and when she didn't.

Tyler shook his head to himself and smiled, knowing that Caroline probably wouldn't remember this at all in the morning. "Of course, Caroline. You're beautiful," he assured her, his words playful. Caroline made a face at him, suddenly seeming much more lucid.

"I'm serious, Tyler."

Tyler sighed, suddenly beginning to sense the significance of this answer to her. She seriously cared what he thought; she seriously needed reassurance. Tyler looked at her sincerely.

"You know that I think you're beautiful, Caroline - and a lot of people agree with me," he added after a moment, as if that somehow added legitimacy to his claim. He waited for a long moment, anticipating something from her. Caroline bit her lip, looking down - and something about all of Caroline's actions when she was drunk seemed somehow more dramatic, as if in her inebriation, she didn't know how to tone down emotional reactions.

"Is that-" Caroline started to speak, but she stopped abruptly, sounding uncertain and hurt. And then after a moment, she spoke again. "Is that all I am? A pretty face?"

Tyler looked at his friend sympathetically. "You know that isn't true," he pressed, giving her a pointed look - as if trying to remind her of the self-confindence that she usually exuded.

Caroline just gave her a long look of confusion before she flopped down onto her back again, her melancholy mood seeming to have passed as quickly as it had appeared. She made a little humming noise in the back of her throat. But Tyler wasn't as ready to let it go as she seemed to be.

"Caroline - what are you so sad about?" he asked gently, hoping that Caroline would answer the question truthfully. She didn't look at him, just stared at the ceiling with a dreamy look in her eyes.

"I had sex with Damon," Caroline sing-songed before giggling lightly to herself. Tyler stared at her with confusion for a long moment before the truth of what she had just said finally set in. But before Tyler could think about it, could consider what it meant, Caroline was talking again. "More than once. Or whatever."

Tyler continued staring at her in disbelief. "When?" he finally inquired, feeling a bit numbed by the unexpected response. He knew that normally, Caroline wouldn't be so comfortable divulging these details, but her drunkeness gave him an unexpected advantage.

"Hmmm," she mumbled softly under her breath, still staring at the ceiling, her skin flushed pink. "The first time was the night after Jules kidnapped me, and we did it a lot that night...the time after that, was um...well. It wasn't even sex, so that doesn't count." She giggled once more, her face flushing a darker shade. "Then, we had sex _on Ric's desk_." She brought both hands up to cover the large grin on her face. "And..." she spoke through her fingers. "That's it." She looked thoughtful for a moment, "Wow, I guess we really didn't sleep with each other that many times. Most of them were dreams." Caroline let out a choked laugh. "Oh my god, I had sex dreams about Damon." For some reason, at that moment, Caroline lost it, laughing out loud as if that fact was the funniest thing she had ever heard. "And it's so ridiculous!" she pushed out between fits of laughter, "I cried when he told me he was dying...god, that's so pathetic. I even went to Klaus, and got tortured..._again_. Just to save him. And for what? For him to get all pissy at me again. And - and now, Stefan...Stefan is gone!" She broke out into another hysterical bout of laughter.

Tyler stared at her for another second before remembered the unexplained looks that Caroline and Damon had shared the night that Damon had rescued them from the tomb. He then remembered that up until recently, Caroline had been dating Matt, not that he would be one to judge, seeing as he was no saint in that department. He supposed that it explained why she had seemed so conflicted when they had run into each other outside of the hospital.

"So, does that mean you have feelings for Damon?" Tyler asked, unable to keep the words from coming out his mouth - because suddenly, they seemed to be a plausible assumption, a glaringly real possibility. And the second he said them, Caroline's laughing stopped and her posture turned rigid, her gaze turned cold, and now, she seemed to be actively trying to avoid looking in his direction. all of this, was answer enough for Tyler.

"Caroline?" he pressed again after a moment, being a little more forceful. "Do you have feelings for him?" The idea seemed rather farfetched to him, considering that the last time Caroline had pursued a relationship with the guy, he had treated her like garbage, and when they had broken up, Caroline had sworn to _never_ stoop so low ever again.

Instead of answering, Caroline turned away from him, lying on the floor still, but facing the other direction. She curled her legs up, until she was almost in a fetal position. "I don't want to talk about it," she mumbled softly, sounding embarrassed. And if that wasn't a confirmation, he didn't know what was.

After the briefest second of thought, Tyler stood up and made his way across the floor to her curled up form; he moved to kneel down on the ground next to her and put her hand tentatively on Caroline's shoulder, snatching it away quickly when she flinched at the touch. He stayed motionless for a long moment before Caroline broke the silence.

"He loves Elena," she insisted, voice quiet. "It doesn't matter if I have feelings for him or not because he's in love with Elena, not me."

"Well, if that's true, then he shouldn't have any right to keep messing with you."

Caroline sat up quickly, glaring at him with a fire blazing in her eyes. "I never said no!" she exclaimed, voice persistent. And rather than sound a bit more lucid, a bit less drunk, now she sounded as if she's somehow become perfectly sober, as if she was now fully aware of everything that wwas going on, everything she was feeling. "He has the right to do whatever he wants, because I can never say no."

Tyler eyed her for a long moment, suddenly feeling pity for her. "He's taking advantage of the fact that you have feelings for him, you know Damon does whatever he wants. And that's what pisses me off about him!" Tyler pressed, hoping to knock some sense into her.

"He doesn't know that I have feelings for him! I mean - I don't even know if I have feelings for him!" Caroline was still yelling, and Tyler wasn't sure if she knew that she was still yelling. He didn't know how rational she was right now. "He's just a guy..."

Caroline was breathing hard now, as if this insistence was some sort of vigorous physical trial, as if it was somehow too much for her body. When Tyler next spoke, he spoke softly, as if trying to calm the vampire now that she'd gotten herself so worked up. "Regardless, it's still wrong that he's taking advantage of you."

Her eyes were frantic. "I don't care!" she yelled in frustration, tears stinging her eyes. "I don't care what he does to me! I just wish that it was me that he was thinking about afterward! That he wasn't so disgusted by the idea of being with _me-"_

And then Caroline released a harsh sob, as if it was somehow too much now - and Tyler couldn't help but be amazed at the myriad of emotions that Caroline had run through in a matter of minutes. But he felt sympathy at seeing his friend suddenly burst into tears, her face a picture of sorrow.

Tyler wrapped his arms around Caroline, pulling the sobbing woman into his chest - and this time, Caroline didn't object to the touch, just let herself be cradled in his arms, let him slowly run his fingers through her hair, trying to calm her quiet, agonized sobs. Caroline was still speaking between sobs, was breathing out words of self-hatred and self-pity - and each one hurt Tyler to hear.

"I don't - want...him to - to hate me," she forced out between sobs, her voice muffled against Tyler's shoulder. "I - I'm nothing but...a useless - whore to him."

Tyler tightened his hold around her back, burying his face into her golden locks. "Shh..." he breathed into her hair, trying to soothe her. Caroline's body was heaving against his, and she was trembling slightly at the same time, her breaths short and ragged. "You're not anyone's whore, Caroline. Not ever."

There was a deep conviction in his voice, but it didn't seem to alleviate Caroline's sadness as he sobs continued to come with the same fervor. Her body continued to shake, and Tyler simply held her until the sobs began to abate. After she had finally quieted, she pulled back, wiping her eyes with her sleeve and sniffling slightly.

"God - what am I doing?" she breathed out after a moment, sounding almost as if she were speaking to herself. "Fuck...I'm so fucking drunk...and I'm getting snot on your shirt."

Tyler looked down at his shirt and saw that she was right - and he was overtaken by the urge to laugh, because it was just so unimportant and so unrelated to anything that mattered, and yet it was the first thing Caroline had chosen to concern herself with. Tyler rubbed his eyes with a quiet snort - a laugh that was hollow with near-desperation.

"It's okay," Tyler said as his laughter subsided. "I'll - wash it."

Caroline nodded as she wiped the rest of her tears away with her sleeve, releasing a wide yawn despite herself. Tyler smiled to himself at her obvious tiredness, while making a mental note to never let Caroline get drunk when she was this upset - because he realized how volatile a combination distressed Caroline and alcohol could be.

"Come on," Tyler urged, standing up and holding a hand out to her. She grabbed his hand, and with little pulling, Tyler was able to get her to her feet, holding her steady. Caroline stared at him in confusion.

"Where are we going?" she asked quietly, sounding perplexed.

"You are going to bed. And you're going to sleep this off," Tyler said firmly, beginning to lead Caroline in the direction of his bedroom. Caroline followed him numbly, though she had to be nearly pulled toward the room - yet she wasn't quite resisting either. When they entered the bedroom, Caroline looked around, her confusion only growing.

"Tyler, this is your bedroom," she said dumbly, looking around the room again, as if that fact would change with another inspection. Tyler sighed tiredly.

"I know. We're at my house," he explained slowly, leading Caroline toward the bed. "You're going to sleep here tonight. I'll take the couch."

"I don't need your pity," Caroline protested weakly, though she let Tyler slowly guide him under the covers. "Just because..."

And then, Caroline was under the covers and snoring lightly, asleep almost immediately. Tyler smiled softly to himself at the sight before going into the kitchen to grab a glass of water and some painkillers for when Caroline woke up, knowing that she would definitely need them.

In the meantime, he reminded himself that he needed to kick Damon's ass the next time he had a chance - for treating Caroline like she was worthless...and mostly, for making her cry, without even a single regret.

***

One week.

It had been one week since her last encounter with Damon Salvatore, since he had kissed her then told her that she _couldn't _have feelings for her. Who was he to tell her what she could and could not feel anyway? Not that she was admitting that she had feelings for him...

Damon.

Caroline didn't know why, but ever since that night, she had been unable to get him out of her mind. Her thoughts ran wild, wondering where he was and what he was doing. She knew it was all ridiculous.

She had been spending most of her time with Tyler, since he had returned, and he had been doing a wonderful job of distracting her from the fact that she had basically handed her best friend over to the enemy, distracting her from Damon. Tyler had been truly amazing. He was attentive, and made her laugh, but he was also a shoulder that she could cry on whenever she needed it. And boy, did she need it. Especially now that Stefan was no where to be found, and he hadn't been so inclined to return any of her phone calls or text messages. Tyler had filled that void, and so, for the life of her, she couldn't understand why she couldn't get Damon out of her mind.

She had not seen him since that night, and honestly, she felt like a piece of her was missing. Yes, Caroline reasoned that it was a little dramatic to feel that way, but it felt like there was literally a hole in her stomach, and she had to clutch onto it as she tried desperately not to cry, tried not to let Damon bring her any more anguish than he already had.

She paused, catching herself. She wouldn't allow Damon to ruin her day out with Tyler. "Have I mentioned lately how awesome you are?" she asked suddenly, looking up at the quiet male as they walked, arms linked together to The Grill to grab something to eat.

Tyler chuckled softly, returning her gaze as a smile spread across his face. "Not today." He replied, as Caroline gripped his arm tighter and leaned her head against his arm. Seeing The Grill in sight, the two of them continued on their way, Tyler going on about how he was going to continue playing football, and how they had gotten some pretty decent new players on the team. Caroline had learned to zone him out when he talked about "guy things", as she had dubbed them, and as the two of them drew closer to the restaurant, she found herself wishing that she hadn't been looking around.

Her heart stopped beating.

She was sure of it.

There, sitting around the corner of The Grill was that stupid blue 1969 Chevy Camaro Convertible that she had ridden in a few times. At that moment, she gripped Tyler's arm tighter for support as she felt her knees grow weak. She began to panic, her breath hitched in her throat. She stopped walking suddenly, jerking Tyler to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk as he yelped in surprise.

"Caroline - wha-!" Tyler began.

"I'm not hungry anymore," she rushed out, cutting Tyler off, before she began to tug him in the opposite direction, walking faster than they had been previously. She released a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Whoa, Caroline," he laughed. "What's the hurry? Let's not forgot that you're a lot stronger than me now. You're going to tear my arm out of the socket." Tyler said, humor laced in his voice.

"I, um..." she stammered, her brain working a mile a minute. "I forgot, I have food at home. We can just eat there." she shrugged, loosening the grip she had on Tyler slightly. "I just...don't want to see certain _people_ there." She glanced back at the restaurant, gesturing to the recognizable car that was still park outside.

"Oh, right." Tyler rolled his eyes. "You can't keep avoiding him, you know."

"Watch me." She let out a giggle that she had been trying to hold in as they continued their journey back to Caroline's house, her thoughts of Damon pushed to the rear of her mind, but definitely not forgotten.

A/N: Yep, well. That's the definition of a filler chapter. I just had to establish Caroline's relationship with Tyler. Hope it wasn't too terrible. :]


	13. You Look So Fine

A/N: Lots of Daroline this chapter! Finallllly! I know, anyway. Enjoy!

"You're kidding me, right?" Alaric Saltzman laughed loudly, causing Damon to sharpen his icy gaze. After a moment, Alaric's laughter died down, taking in Damon's troubled gaze. "You're not kidding."

"Fuck you, Ric." Damon spat. "I knew I shouldn't have told you."

"But...I thought you had a girlfriend. Andy, or whatever her name was. How does Caroline fit into this whole thing?" Alaric asked incredulously.

"She doesn't," Damon rushed out, shaking his head before bringing the glass he held in his hand up to his lips and taking a drink. "It's complicated." Alaric smirked at the other male knowingly, as if something suddenly made sense to him, and Damon scowled before he could help himself. "What?"

"You like her." It wasn't a question, but a statement, and Damon felt immediately defensive. "She's the one that you've been so conflicted about lately, isn't she?"

"I do not like her," he retorted, leaning back in his chair. "She's a child, and such a bitch. And I'm pretty sure she hates me."

"But you don't hate her," Alaric said, shrugging his shoulders. "You like her."

"Now why the hell would you say that?" Damon inquired, finishing off his bourbon and glaring at the other man.

"You've been drinking yourself into oblivion a lot lately. And you're getting pretty flustered talking about it." Alaric asked, raising his eyebrows then finishing off his drink before ordering another round for the both of them.

"I am not flustered." Damon replied, rolling his eyes at his friend, causing Alaric to chuckle at his childish actions.

"Whatever you say, buddy." And Damon grimaced, crossing his arms over his chest uncomfortably.

It had been almost two weeks since the last time he can seen the said blonde. Granted, the majority of his time had been occupied with attempting to track his brother down with Elena, but it hadn't gone unnoticed that the blonde had seemingly dropped off the face of the planet. While he didn't want to admit it to himself, he found himself actually wondering where she had gone, and what she had been doing, and with who she had been spending all her time with.

Much to his own dismay, his thoughts had been clouded with images of the vampire barbie, and the moments they had spent together. He had always told himself that Caroline was infuriating. She was neurotic, and crazy, and way too clingy for his liking, but no matter how hard he had tried in the past couple weeks, he could not rid himself of his thoughts about Caroline. He had plenty of other things to worry about other than where Caroline was...

Torn between options and decisions, logical rights and wrongs and a nasty thing called a conscience - which was the only thing, he told himself, that stopped him from pursuing his true love, Elena - Damon had taken to brooding by himself as a way to avoid everything else in his life.

Alaric eventually saw fit to intervene on his flow of things before an impending disaster could take place. And that's how Damon had ended up at The Grill, downing drink after drink with his friend in the early afternoon.

"Be as stubborn as you want. It's obvious that Caroline has gotten to you."

Pressing his lips together in a tight line, Damon chose not to respond. After all, it was true. Caroline _had_ gotten to him.

"Okay, I have to say it. Aren't you a little too old for her?" Alaric teased.

Damon practically spit into his drink, choking on the liquid that was now burning in the back of his throat, and Alaric reached over to pat him on the back, trying to suppress his laughter at his friend's violent reaction.

"Where the hell did that come from?" Damon asked, bringing his hand to cover his mouth as he tried to clear his throat.

"Hey, man. I'm all for dating younger women, but she's still in high school. _And_ she's in my class, for god's sake."

Damon rolled his eyes once again. "I don't even know why I thought telling you was a good idea. It's not like it's a big deal. She's not my girlfriend, or anything." he persisted, throwing back his drink and shutting his eyes as it burned down his throat.

"Stop trying to drown out your 'feelings' with alcohol."

"Shut up," Damon replied defensively. "That's not what I'm doing."

Alaric merely rolled his eyes, giving the other male a half-smile before placing a hand on his shoulder, as if he were trying to comfort him.

Damon disliked the pity he seemed to be receiving from his friend. It was obvious now that other people had been picking up on the fact that he hadn't quite been himself for the past couple weeks, and he hated the fact that all of his problems seemed to start and end with Caroline Forbes. Scowling, Damon made a decision. He had to figure out why he had been so affected by his trysts with Caroline. It was slowly becoming something that he couldn't avoid.

He had to find out where she had gone and talk to her.

...

_'You're avoiding me.'_

Caroline had been in the kitchen, grabbing a blood bag from the refrigerator when her mother had called out to her from the living room, informing her that an alert had just popped up on her phone. When she had walked back into the living room, sipping slowly on the blood bag, her mother had been holding her cellphone out towards her, while looking down at a file on the coffee table in front of her. Caroline had snatched up the phone, entered in her password and opened the new text message she had received. The short statement displayed across the screen caused her to choke on the liquid she had been drinking, her eyes to widen, and her face to flush a shade darker.

"You okay?" Her mother inquired, taking a moment to look up from her work.

Caroline cleared her throat, nodding her head rapidly. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's nothing." she rushed out before placing the blood bag between her teeth so that she could hastily type a response to the text message. _'No. I'm not.'_ She hit the 'send' button, stalking off to sulk in her room. Before she had even been able to close the door, she felt her phone vibrate, signalling that she had received another text message.

_'Yes you are.'_

Caroline sighed audibly, trying to come up with a better reply than what she had originally responded with. It was the truth. She had been trying to avoid Damon, and so far, she had been successful in her attempts, but of course, Damon could not leave her in peace. _'I've been busy.' _It wasn't a complete lie. She had purposefully been making sure that she always had something do to. That day was the first day she actually didn't have any plans, and after enjoying a home-cooked lunch with her mom - her mother had actually been off the clock - she had resigned to spending the rest of the day pouting in the drama-free environment of her room.

"Caroline?" she heard her mother call from down the hallway, distracting her from her thoughts.

"Yeah, mom?" she called back, all but throwing herself down onto her mattress. She heard her mother say something about having to run to the office, but Caroline had tuned her out before she had finished her sentence. It was typical of her mother to go into work on her days off...

Caroline held her phone above her head, checking to see if Damon had texted back. She couldn't help the frown that graced her lips when she saw that he had yet to respond. She opened her messages with him, and began to type out another response to him. _'What does it matter to you if I'm avoiding you or not?'_

She was curious as to why he had texted her out of the blue, but then again, that was Damon. Totally unpredictable.

Caroline was startled when her phone buzzed again a few seconds later, and in her surprise, the phone managed to slip from her grasp, managing to land painfully against her face. "Fuck!" she exclaimed, quickly snatching up her phone, and chastising herself for being such an idiot. She opened the text message from Damon, and was even more surprised that he had not answered her previous question. _'I'm coming over.'_

Caroline pursed her lips. What did he mean he was 'coming over'? Well, she knew what it meant. But the question of _why_ he was coming over was a completely mystery to her. She found herself instantly growing nervous at the thought of being alone with Damon once again. Obviously she had to be somewhere on his radar for him to actually take notice that she had been actively avoiding him, but what exactly did that mean?

_'We need to talk.' _Caroline had little to no interest in finding out what Damon wanted to talk to her about, and she had half a mind to leave the house before he arrived. Maybe he was just messing with her. He probably wasn't even going to show up. God, she was in such denial. Caroline sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She wished that Damon would just leave her alone. She would have liked nothing better than to leave their whole situation alone and move on with her life. But she knew that she couldn't.

Caroline hadn't realized that she'd reach the decision that she was going through with meeting Damon until that moment. The conclusion both relieved and terrified her at the same time. She knew she was going to regret it in the end, but it was the only choice she could bring herself to make. She would tell him once and for all that she wanted nothing from him, and that she had nothing to offer him. Nothing good could come from the two of them continuing what they had been doing, it would only further complicate things.

She didn't know what compelled her to get out of bed, but Caroline found herself changing out of the clothes she had been wearing, and actually releasing her hair from the messy bun she had thrown it in earlier that morning and brushing it for the first time that day. She told herself that she was only 'getting ready' because dressed indecently, and not because she wanted to look nice for Damon.

She had been applying the finishing touches of her lip gloss when she heard a quiet knock on the front door. Caroline threw the tube of gloss on top of her dresser, checking her appearance one last time in the mirror, but stopping herself short and rolling her eyes, because what did she care if she looked good for Damon or not. She exited her room, walking down the hall toward the front door. With each step she took closer to the door, she found herself tempted to turn around and head back into her room, leaving him outside, but she scolded herself for being such a coward, took a deep breath, and slowly peer out the window of the door. When she saw a bored looking Damon on the other side of the door, her heart began to race faster. He raised his eyebrows at her, and she cautiously pulled the door open.

"You sure take your time." he spoke lazily, to which she rolled her eyes.

"What do you want, Damon?" she asked, leaning herself against the door she was holding. It was only then that she had noticed that he had been holding a small red cooler in one of his hands, and she eyed the box suspiciously before returning her gaze to Damon's unreadable one. "Something I should know about?" she inquired, an eyebrow raised.

Damon shrugged. "Not really." And without so much as another word, Damon pushed past her and into the house, making his way into the kitchen. "I need ice." He made quick work of ripping open the freezer door and began shoveling ice into the small cooler, which Caroline could now see, was filled with beer. Caroline watched him without a word, intrigued as to what he was doing, and when he returned to the living room, he was smiling, obviously satisfied with himself.

Caroline couldn't help when the corners of her mouth turned up into a small smile, a curiosity in her eyes that was hard to miss. Happiness had been a sparse thing between the two of them, and it was shocking to see Damon smiling so sincerely at her.

"What exactly is it that you are doing?" she asked, crossing her arms across her chest.

"_We_ are celebrating." Damon replied, placing the cooler on the ground next to where Caroline was standing before returning to the kitchen and perusing through a few cabinets in search of something.

"Celebrating...what?" she questioned, her eyebrows raised in wonder.

"Us." Damon said, returning from the kitchen with a box of matches. He stopped to pick up the cooler once more and motioned for Caroline to follow, before heading out the door.

Caroline stared after him in confusion for a moment before Damon turned to look back at her, once again motioning for her to follow. She was interested in what Damon had planned, so she swiped her keys off the coffee table, and grabbed her purse from the couch before following hurrying out the door behind Damon. By the time she reached his car, he was loading the cooler in the backseat.

"Well?" Damon challenged. "Are you getting in, or what?" He had already gotten into the vehicle and was staring up at Caroline, expectantly.

She hesitantly entered the car on the passengers side, dumping her purse on the floor by her feet, and buckling her seat belt. She could tell that Damon was watching her with a smirk on his face, and she felt her face flush as she awkwardly looked away, not wanting to give Damon the satisfaction of knowing that his stare made her uncomfortable. "I'm sorry," she snorted, training her gaze on her scenery out the window as Damon began to drive. "I didn't realize it was our anniversary. I would've gotten you something otherwise." she scoffed sarcastically.

"I'll forgive the fact that you're a smart-ass if you really do get me something," Damon retorted, glancing back over to the blonde.

A good ten minutes later, Damon had pulling into the Mystic Falls Library's parking lot, parked his car near the back entrance, and had gotten out. Caroline could only follow his lead, and after Damon had grabbed the few items in the backseat, he began making his way toward the building, Caroline trailing behind him silently. Two minutes later, the two of them were in the cramped space of the building's main stairwell to the roof. Their path was barely illuminated by the flickering lights that hung from the peeling walls and the air was so stale and dusty that it made it difficult to breathe. Still, they slowly climbed upward, with Caroline in the lead and Damon close behind.

"Stop pushing, jerk." Caroline groused, turning back to glare at him.

"Well, hurry up then, you ass." Damon countered and gave the blonde a slight shove.

"This was your idea, _dick,_" she griped, tightening her grip on the hand rail so that she would not lose her footing and plummet down the stairwell. "Stop being such a baby,"

They went on like that, back and forth at each other, neither of them willing to back down to the other. It was another fight of wit and sarcasm that came so naturally between them. By the time they had actually reached the top, it had shifted from friendly bantering to immature name calling. However, when the door was opened, they both fell silent at the sight that spread out before them.

There in the western sky was the most brilliant sunset painted over the rise of Mystic Falls' skyline. A golden sphere of light hung there in the distance, shrouded in the midst of pink and purple clouds that contrasted perfectly into the fading blue atmosphere.

Caroline stood there in awe momentarily, then Damon pushed passed her and breathed in infinitely fresher air. Though summer was drawing nearer, the nights were still comfortably cool. Caroline watched as Damon walked toward a set of four lawn chairs, they were facing the west and seemed to be surrounding an outdoor fire pit that sat in the middle. As Caroline moved closer to where Damon was now busying himself with the box of matches, she could see that there was dry wood stacked in the fire pit, ready for use. She briefly wondered how long this set-up had been up on the rooftop of the library, and how many people actually knew about it.

Damon only had to strike two matches to get the fire burning, then left it alone to grow on its own. Caroline watched as he turned to fool around with something, until she heard the soft lull of music fill the open air. Damon turned up the volume on what seemed to be an iPod speaker set and placed it on one of the chairs. She managed to pry herself away from admiring the sunset and walked toward the other vampire, who was now opening two beers. He held one to Caroline, and she took it appreciatively.

She still had no idea what she had been expecting from Damon, but she sure as hell wasn't expecting him to bring her to such a beautiful place. "To us," Damon said, and they clinked bottles, the two of them settling down into their chairs and listening to the song from the speakers while they watched the sun make its slow descent.

Caroline found herself relaxing in the comfortable silence between them, content as the night closed in and the sky finally faded to a sparkling black. She didn't know how long the two of them sat there, reveling in the peace and the slight buzzes that were beginning to take over after a couple beers each. It was a blissful sort of mood, and Caroline smiled, actually glad that Damon had showed up at her house.

"Your idea of celebrating is a little boring." She said about four beers later. Damon only looked toward her, finished off his beer, then grabbed another one, popping off the cap and taking a drink.

"I'm sorry," he finally replied. "Let me make it interesting then," Caroline didn't answer, but observed as Damon fiddled with the iPod for a bit, until he picked a song that seemed to suit his taste. As Garbage's _'You Look So Fine'_ filled the air surrounding them, Caroline continued to watch him, unsure of what to think because when he turned to look at her, he had such a devious grin plastered across his face that she instantly suspected there were no good intentions behind it.

"What are you up to?" she asked, her eyes narrowing in on that smirking face.

Damon all but skipped over to her, taking the bottle in her grasp and setting it aside. "Dance with me." He practically commanded.

She must have been more buzzed than she thought because she smiled up at him and let herself be pulled to her feet. She visibly shivered when Damon spun her into him, and at the moment, the rooftop became their dance floor. Their stage light was the fire that blazed off to their right and the music was the blood, rushing through their veins. All that existed was the two od them and the beat that made their bodies move. Before either one realized it, arms had been thrown around one another and they were dancing to a rhythm that had taken control of them. They rocked their hips together and swayed a little close than necessary, fingers tangled into hair or under clothing, grazing across places they shouldn't have been, their gazes locked and unwavering, all the intimitely raw and unspoken things mirrored directly into each other's eyes.

Maybe it was the alcohol in her system, or maybe it was something in the way Damon's eyes seemed to glisten in the dark and the way their bodies were moving against each other. Or maybe it was something so much deeper than all of that. Caroline didn't know what exactly possessed her to do it, but she threw away all her previous thoughts of her need to stay away from Damon, reached up and took his face between her hands and pulled him down into a deep, lingering kiss that melted away everything between them. There was only the touch of their lips, the feeling of their bodies, and the sway of the music as they sank deeper into one another. Though it only lasted a few moments, it felt like so much longer.

When she pulled away, there was a familiar burning sensation left on her lips, the same as every kiss Damon's had placed upon her lips in the past. She hadn't been aware she missed that feeling so strongly until now.

"What was that for?" Damon purred, dipping his face closer to hers as if he meant to kiss her again, but pulling back just a little before their lips touched.

"Revenge." She replied simply, smiling wickedly up at him and slipping her arms back around the vampire's neck.

"For what?" he asked, settling his arms around her waist and holding her close.

"For kissing me the other day," she smirked.

"As I recall, you seemed to enjoy it." He scoffed.

"I have no idea what we're doing, Damon." She murmured, closing her eyes for a moment. "You're right. I think I like you," the words came tumbling from her lips before she could stop herself. She didn't have time to be embarrassed before Damon seized her lips in another searing kiss before she could say anything else.

In that one frenzied moment, all the subconscious and smothered things inside of them exploded. That buried carnal desire for each other, that ravenous lust that lay just beneath the skin, and all the pent up frustration suddenly became known. It was like trying to breathe for the first time, struggling to take air into long deprived lungs. Caroline was soon pressed against the wall beside the door to the stairwell, Damon's hands combing roughly down her sides to rest on her hips. Held firmly in place, she allowed Damon to control her, delving into his kiss further, licking, teasing, taking in every sensation, every taste, every detail with a hunger that couldn't be satiated.

Damon responded with fair eagerness, biting softly at Caroline's low lip until she moaned and tilted her head back further to allow him better access. Damon's kiss was both soft and sensual, but there was a strong desire behind it that took her by force. It had her wanting more. Begging for more. Her fingers tangled into Damon's dark hair, pulling him closer, sinking into him.

Caroline had no idea what was going on. She had intended on standing her ground, telling Damon that she couldn't do whatever they were doing anymore. Not this. But now that they were here, kissing so passionately that it made her head spin, she couldn't seem to stop herself. She wanted more. So she didn't stop. She continued to kiss Damon like her life depended on it, clawing at him as if he were the only thing keeping her grounded.

When the kiss broke for a fraction of a second, he guided his lips downwards, bringing a hand behind her neck to tilt it back further. He nipped and sucked softly at the pale column of her neck, seeking out the most apt way to make her moan again.

"Damon..." she gasped, arching forcefully against the body that held her against the wall.

"Hmm?" He murmured, having no intention to halt his action on the abused skin of Caroline's neck. He was enjoying her reactions far too much to stop now.

Not that Caroline wanted him to stop. Another incoherent moan left her parted lips before she brought Damon's mouth back to her own for another long, satisfying kiss that left them both breathless. He pulled her away from the wall, guiding her back towards the slowly dying fire he had lit earlier, placing chaste kisses upon her lips as she stumbled to keep her footing. The next time he pulled away from her, he leaned over to whisper in her ear, "Turn around."

She complied without a word, shivering in anticipation. Just when her back was turned towards him, Damon's arms encircled her waist, holding her tightly against his chest. Caroline moaned and tilted her head to the side as she felt his mouth suck on her neck, and for the first time that night, she felt the familiar stinging of his teeth piercing her skin. His hands slid underneath her clothing, over her breasts and waist, rough touches followed by gentle ones as she writhed against him. Her head rolled back onto his shoulder, her blonde hair slipping over his chest as his hands moved down closer to the waistband of her jeans. She shuddered when his teeth slipped from within her flesh, his tongue laving over the newly made wound affectionately. Unable to stop himself anymore, Damon ripped open the button of her pants, yanking the zipper down and sliding his hand under the material. With some calculated maneuvers on his part, Caroline's jeans were pulled down around her mid-thigh, only low enough to grant him access. His arm tightened around her waist as he proceeded to yank the flimsy lace of her underwear down, and Caroline sunk back against his chest.

His hand moved up the inside of her naked thigh, and her legs parted as far her restricting jeans allowed her. The feeling of his hands against her was almost enough to drive her crazy, and she found herself growing impatient. Damon growled into her ear, his restraint challenged on all fronts, as Caroline grinded her hips back and forth, alternating between pressing her ass back against him, to thrusting into the hand that was teasing her sensitive flesh. She grew agitated when Damon's hands left her body completely, but shivered when she heard the unmistakable sound of his belt buckle being undone and the zipper of his pants sliding down.

Caroline understood enough for the both of them as she bent forward, resting her hands against one of the lawn chairs, steadying herself. Within seconds, she felt his length rub against her and she dropped her hand between her legs, guiding him. His hips thrust forward, and Caroline groaned as she felt her flesh part to accommodate him, momentarily feeling all breath leave her lungs. His hips rolled forward and her thoughts were scattered, too lost in the sensation of being filled so completely. He made quick work of setting a pace for the two of them, his hips snapping back and forth in hasty, sharp movements. One of his hands gripped onto her hip tightly as the other roamed the expanse of her clothed back until it tangled itself in her blonde hair, pulling her up roughly so that her back was against his chest, and she cried out, surprised at the new angle. All she could do was follow, counteracting his hips while desperately trying to cling onto something.

Damon turned her head and kissed her deeply, his own head held in place when her hand fisted into his dark hair. He didn't care that her nails were almost tearing into his scalp as he continued his pace and thrust into her quick and hard, enjoying her shudders and muffled moans.

Caroline tore her mouth away from his, crying out as he hit something deep within her that seemingly set her body on fire, and he released her hair from his grasp, moving it to cover her mouth in an attempt to quiet down her cries. He bit down into her neck to silence his own groaning, tasting the sweet nectar of her blood between his lips. The movement of their hips were becoming more frantic, and when he lowered a hand between her legs and brushed against her clit, she cried out once more, but the sound came out muffled against Damon's other hand.

Caroline's body arched against him, pushing her hips back with each of Damon's thrust, taking him in deeper each time, striving to release the tension running through her entire body. It was obvious to Damon that she was close, and with every clench of her walls around him, he felt himself slowly unraveling within her. With a few particular harsh thrusts and strokes to her swollen bud, Caroline went rigid, her entire body tensing and convulsing as she was consumed by the pulsating waves of pure satisfaction. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came forth. Everywhere they touched, her skin burned with a delicious pleasure that had her seeing stars. With one final push into her tight, clenching heat, he spilled himself into her willing body, groaning and he bit down harder into her flesh, quivering as he slowed his movements.

Finally, they both went still, listening to the sound of each other's breath and the low playing music. Damon moved first, withdrawing himself from her. Caroline hadn't realized how weak her legs had become until Damon had released her and she had to stand on her own. The thought of what she had just done crossed her mind for a moment, but she was too exhausted, physically and mentally to feel any remorse for her actions.

When Caroline had finally managed to straighten herself and her clothing out, she turned to Damon, noticing that he had also fixed himself, a lazy grin plastered across his mouth. After a few moments of sated silence, Damon reached out to her, grabbing her hand and tugging her towards him, his voice low and husky in her ear;

"Come home with me, Caroline."

A/N: Hmmm, I wonder what's going to go wrong next! Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up pretty soon, since I have the entire outline of it done already. Hope you enjoyed. And thank you to everyone for all your support! Reviews are always amazing! :] ALSO, the awkward moment when TVD does a scene like the one I had planned for Daroline, except with Delena. I was totally shocked when Delena had their moment at the end of 4x07, considering that I've had the dance scene written out for months now. LOL, guess it's a popular idea. I promise I wasn't trying to steal from Delena~!


	14. I'm Content With Losing

A/N: This is a rather lengthy chapter. And A LOT happens, so if you blink, you'll miss something! Just kidding. But a lot does happen. So enjoy!

...

Caroline shivered, her eyes slowly fluttering open when she felt a ghost of a sensation running over the curve of her bare back. She was laying on her stomach, her head resting against the back of her hand, and she blinked several times, trying to focus on her surroundings in the dimly lit room. Caroline took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, the air bringing her body into awareness of the slight chill in the room, and the way the covers on the bed were resting dangerously low, barely covering her backside.

She peered over at the form laying next to her, flushing when she realized that he was awake and was looking directly at her, watching her, and that it was his hand that was tracing shapeless patterns against her skin. She shivered once more, his fingertips grazing against her skin lightly enough that it was nearly a tickle along her spine, and she had to focus on steadying her breathing as he reached the bottom of her tailbone before working his way back up once again.

Morning sun began to creep into the room, casting soft shadows, and making her usually pale skin seem even lighter, almost as if it were glowing. Damon was also resting on his stomach, his breathing slow and relaxed, as he watched the blonde in silence. It had been an interesting night for the both of them, to say the least. Caroline had fallen asleep naked, indulging in the smooth satin of the bed sheets against her skin, and now, as she took a deep breath, flexing the muscles in her shoulders and arching her back toward the hand caressing her skin, she realized that she was sore.

"Good morning," he said, his voice husky and low as if he had just awoken.

"Morning," she whispered back, flushing slightly, turning and burying her face into the pillow beneath her in embarrassment.

Damon smiled at her actions, and pushed himself up so that he was on his side, resting on one arm, his free hand remaining on the small of Caroline's back. "Don't be shy now," he teased, running his hand up to the base of her neck before tugging his fingers through her messy, sleep disheveled hair. "After all," he drawled out slowly, and in the next instance, he had flipped the blonde over onto her back and somehow managed to nestle himself between her legs. "You did admit that you liked me last night," he finished, staring down at Caroline and watching as the realization of what he had said sunk in. He didn't give her time to respond as he leaned down and captured her lips with his own.

Caroline only hesitated for a moment before returning the kiss, but was stopped short when Damon bent his head down further, placing kisses along the expanse of her neck and shoulders. The heat of his body against hers was warm and welcome against the slight chill of the room, and Caroline closed her eyes, focusing on the sensations he was creating within her when he lowered his head even further and took a nipple into his mouth, lazily drawing circles with his tongue, and laving it with affection.

Damon's lips left her breast and the cool air hit the dampness left behind, sending a shiver through her as he moved to offer her other breast the same attention. She tried to slow her breathing, letting him continue his ministrations as she relaxed beneath him, her arousal growing with each flick of his tongue.

Damon kissed and caressed his way down her body, his lips finding the smooth skin of her stomach and leaving a soft trail of nips and kisses there. Caroline let one hand rest on his head, gently massaging his scalp with her fingernails as he worked lower, pushing the covers down and out of the way, his hand always a brief step ahead of his mouth.

Caroline's breath hitched in her throat as she watched him push her thighs apart, his hands smoothing over the skin he found here as he settled between them, his lips falling to the dip between her hip bones, then to her inner thigh, and then to the apex of her legs as his tongue eased out to lazily stroke over her clit.

Caroline's breathing sped up, her eyes fluttering closed as he lavished her with attention. He braced his body with one arm while his other reached up, palming her breast, toying with her nipple and drawing out quicker breaths and moans as he brought every nerve ending to life within her. She had only ever imagined Damon doing this to her, and now, as his tongue flicked over her sensitive flesh, she ran her fingers through his hair, reveling in the pleasure he was providing for her.

She had to fight back the protest that threatened to leave her lips when he stopped, but quickly understood what he was doing as he worked his mouth back up her body, settling his hips in line with hers, and pushing himself into her completely. His mouth grazed hers, and she found it oddly erotic as she tasted herself against his lips, their bodies moving together, his hips meeting hers with small circular motion that he'd discovered she enjoyed the night before.

This was the fifth time they were doing this. The night before had been frantic, the pair of them clawing at each other like their lives depended on it, and as Damon had awoken earlier with her slumbering body still next to his, he found himself wanting to experience her once again. And now, as Caroline felt a familiar bubble of heat and pressure building within her, she wrapped her legs around his waist, pushing up against him in an effort to relieve it.

Taking the hint, Damon thrust harder, grinding down further into her and brushing her clit with his fingers with each snap of his hips, watching as her eyes rolled back, her mouth open in a silent cry as she tightened and pulsed around him. He dropped his head onto her shoulder, picking up his pace, determined to make her scream for him once again.

"Damon," his name left her lips in a breath before she moaned out loud, losing herself to the myriad of sensations he gave to her. She closed her eyes and bucked against him, her back arching as she clenched around him, bringing Damon to his own release a few moments later.

Caroline sighed contentedly in his ear, keeping her arms wrapped around his neck, not wanting to let him go. He settled on top of her, and she revelled in the the feeling of his skin against hers, a welcome heat between them as their breathing fell into sync. She kissed his shoulder, then neck, and then tugged his earlobe teasingly between her teeth.

He rolled them, pulling her on top of him, and she yelped in surprise, but then rested her chin on top of her hands on his chest, peering at him with a small, satisfied smile. His hands found her lower back, once again tracing shapeless patterns on the skin of her back.

Caroline was surprised at how much she had felt at ease with him, considering that in the days prior, she had been trying to avoid him. "You know, I've never actually spent the night in your bed before," she said quietly, and Damon looked thoughtful for a moment, then peered up at her with a smirk.

"Is that so?" he asked, and Caroline nodded in reply. "Well, I guess we've got some lost time to make up for."

...

"Where the hell have you been, Care?"

Caroline just shrugged, the muscles of her shoulders still tight from all the...activities she had partaken in earlier that morning. "I've been busy, with stuff." She answered casually.

"Well, that's just great. First Bonnie goes off to see her dad, and then you dropped off the face of the planet because you're busy with _stuff."_ The brunette said, sighing audibly.

"I'm sorry, Elena." Caroline exhaled, looking toward her friend sympathetically. "I know I should've called or texted." Caroline did feel guilty. She had been ignoring everyone with the exception of Tyler, and well, Damon, in the last two weeks, and she felt terrible knowing that Elena had had no one around for her since Bonnie had left. "How have you been? Any word from Stefan?" His name left her lips bitterly, knowing that he was still no where to be found.

Elena sighed again. "Nope. Not a peep." Caroline shot her another sympathetic look. "And I've been...okay. Damon and I haven't been able to track down any significant leads." And Caroline felt her heart fall at the words. "And speaking of Damon..." she began, "You haven't heard from him, have you? He was supposed to meet me this morning, but he never showed." Caroline immediately blushed crimson and looked away from the other female, pretending to look at something on her phone.

"Uh, no. No. I haven't!" she exclaimed, her heart racing at Elena's question, and she scolded herself mentally for being so obviously nervous. "I've been hanging out with Tyler." Elena shot her a look before smiling at the blonde.

"And what's going on there?" she teased, raising her eyebrows at Caroline.

"Nothing," she rushed out. "Nothing. We're just friends, that's all." Elena looked at her disbelievingly. "I'm serious. _Nothing_ is going on between me and Tyler." It wasn't a lie. Nothing really _was_ going on between the two of them, but she couldn't bring herself to mention that the reason Damon hadn't show up to their meeting that morning was because he had been with her.

"Whatever you say, Care." Elena replied, smiling up at her friend from the couch. "Anyway, there's something I've been meaning to tell you for a while now. I just never really got the chance." Caroline looked at her curiously. "You just have to promise you won't flip out on me, okay?" Elena brought her hand up to her mouth, biting at her nails nervously.

Caroline grinned at her, moving to sit down on the opposite end of the couch, positioning herself so that she was facing the brunette. "What's up?"

"Damon and I...well, I kind of kissed him."

Caroline's mouth fell open in surprise, unsure of what to say in reply to Elena's confession. "You did what?" she asked incredulously.

"It was the night we thought he was dying, when I was with him. We were laying in his bed, and we were talking, and it got really emotional and I just kissed him." Elena rambled, running a hand through her hair. "And then Katherine walked in. God, it was so embarrassing."

"Since when you do kiss Damon?" she inquired, looking rather dumbstruck.

Elena blushed. "Well...it's kinda already happened a couple times before." And Caroline blinked at her, trying to process the information. "I mean, he's kissed me before. But this was the first time that I kissed him. He told me that he loved me, and he apologized for everything he had ever done to hurt me. Even though he thought he was dying, I know he meant every word of it, and the next things I knew, I was kissing him. I don't know,"

Caroline listening quietly as Elena rambled on. She couldn't say that she was surprised, but as she kept quiet, she grew more anxious over what she had learned. After that morning, she had almost forgotten that Damon was in love with Elena, and she found that it was only fitting that she be reminded of that fact. Did that mean Elena had some kind of feelings for Damon as well? She had to fight the childish urge to blurt out that she had feelings for Damon and that Elena couldn't have him, but as the thought crossed her mind, she reminded herself of how ridiculous that whole idea was to begin with. It was just another indication that she would never _have _Damon, but she couldn't stop the feeling of jealously bubbling in the pits of her stomach.

"Okay, I'm confused. Are you and Damon a 'thing' now?" She asked, wondering why Damon had suddenly wanted to spend time with her if Elena had kissed him, and why he had never mentioned it to her, but Elena immediately shook her head.

"No! No! I love Stefan! And only Stefan. I just...I thought he was going to die." Elena hung her head. "I don't know what I was thinking, Care. It just sorta happened."

"It's okay, we all do things we regret sometimes," she replied, trying to hide the bitterness she held in her tone.

...

Damon opened the front door at the persistent knocking that came against it later on that evening when he had finally resigned himself to a night in. He'd thought for a few moments about just not getting up, not rising to answer the door at all - and he'd thought that the person would stop knocking, that he could just ignore them and they'd go away. But the knocking continued unabated, until it had been more work to try to ignore it than it was to just answer it - and that was when Damon had finally gotten up and made his way to open it.

Tyler Lockwood was standing outside the door when Damon pulled it ajar, and Damon sighed and raised his eyes at the sight of the wolf-boy, unsure of what he was doing at the boarding house. The stony look on Tyler's face only added to Damon's feeling of apprehension as he stared at him for a moment.

"What the hell do you want?" Damon breathed tiredly, rubbing the bridge of his nose, where a headache had been steadily building all day long. "I'm not in the mood."

When Tyler spoke, his tone was unforgiving. "This can't wait," he said insistently, shooting a piercing gaze in the vampire's direction. Damon grew annoyed with that gaze - it felt accusing, felt malicious, and he became more apprehensive.

"Seriously-"

Tyler's gaze hardened a little and he shoved his way passed his Damon and into the house.

Damon raised his hands in defeat, turning to face Tyler. "Okay, come on in." he drawled out before walking over to a dresser to where an abandoned bottle of whiskey lay. He poured himself a glass, and stood there expectantly for a long moment, waiting for Tyler to start speaking about whatever was so important.

"You're an asshole, Damon," he finally said, his voice tinged with anger but not overwhelmed with it.

"Care to justify that?" Damon asked after a moment, feeling impatient. He wasn't in the mood to run around in circles; he'd had a rather tiring day. "Or is that just a general statement?"

Tyler took a deep breath to contain his annoyance. "Stop fucking around with Caroline." Tyler snapped after a pause - and there it was, all out in the open. Damon hadn't been expecting that. "You're being an ass, and you need to leave her alone."

Damon was already irritated about the wolf barging into the house uninvited, and now he had the nerve to make demands? Damon smirked at him, took a swig of his drink, then lazily walked towards Tyler, stopping just short of the other man. "What's it to you, wolf? What are you, her bitch?" he agitated.

Damon could see the anger building behind Tyler's usually calm facade, but he wasn't the least bit shocked when Tyler grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him close. "If you say or do another fucking thing to her, I'll-"

"You'll what?" he scoffed, grabbing Tyler's wrist and yanking his hand away from his shirt. "What'll you do? Kill me?" He tauntingly pushed at Tyler's chest.

"I'm not gonna kill you, but I can kick your smug ass!" Tyler all but yelled at him, then lunged toward the vampire, a satisfying crack resounding as his fist connected with Damon's jaw.

Damon's taunting behavior was quickly replaced with an almost animalistic rage, and he only stood for a moment before he launched himself at Tyler, the force sending them both toppling to the floor. His hand met with Tyler's throat in an attempt to crush the flesh in his grasp, and Tyler clawed at the hand, growling viciously at the other in anger. "I'm stronger than you, remember?" Damon snarled at him, but Tyler's foot met with his stomach, the impact throwing Damon off his body and back into an armchair, toppling over it, and causing him to lose his footing and land on the floor with a loud thud.

Within seconds, Tyler was leaning over him, a hand fisted in Damon's shirt, the other making quick work of colliding with his jaw once again. Damon grabbed the wrist of the hand that held his shirt and snapping the bone, causing Tyler to cry out in pain, and using that to his advantage, Damon rolled them, his hand meeting with the wolf's throat once more as he proceeded to punch him, his balled up fist colliding with Tyler's face over and over.

He could smell Tyler's disgusting wolf blood, and it only fueled his anger, even as Tyler kneed him in the side, feeling his ribs shift from the impact, he ignored the pain, fully intent on smashing Tyler's face in. In the distance, he heard footsteps approaching, but he was too furious that Tyler had bothered him that evening to stop his assault.

"Damon!" Caroline's voice squealed, and Damon looked up for a second, noticing the blonde's fast approaching form before he turned back to Tyler's bloodied face, continuing his aggression, not caring that his knuckles were sore and bleeding. "Damon, stop!" her voice came again, "You're going to kill him!" He heard more footsteps, and in a flash, he had been thrown off the other male, his body crashing into a set of cabinets, shattering the glass doors.

Damon arose from his battered surroundings to find Caroline kneeling over Tyler, a look of concern spread across her features that irritated him beyond his own understanding. And oh, if looks could kill, Damon was sure he would've been viciously slaughtered when Caroline turned to look up at him, her eyes narrowed dangerously at him.

"What the hell is your problem, Damon?" she screamed at his before turning back to Tyler. She grabbed one of his arms and wrapped it around her shoulder, helping him stand before they started toward the door.

Without another word, Caroline walked out with Tyler in tow, making sure to slam the door shut in the process. Damon rolled his eyes, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

God, he needed a drink...

...

"I'm fine, Caroline." Tyler mumbled. "You can let me go," he tried to shrug Caroline's hand off him but she held onto him tighter.

"No, you're not." She replied rather pointedly, keeping his arm draped around her shoulder as they stumbled through the door of her house.

"What about your car?" He muttered as he was deposited onto the couch. Caroline had driven Tyler's car back to her house, leaving her own at the boarding house, but she couldn't leave Tyler to drive by himself.

Caroline frowned. "It's fine. I'll get it later." She walked out of the living room for a moment, and when she returned, she had a damp washcloth in one of her hands, and a bottle of aspirin in the other. She perched herself on the couch next to him, grabbing his chin gently and turning his battered face towards her own. She inspected the damage for a moment before she exhaled loudly. The left side of his forehead was bruised purple and black, and there was a gash along his cheek that look pretty nasty. It wasn't bad enough to be life threatening, but enough that she knew he would probably have a concussion. "Care to tell me what was going on?" She inquired softly, taking the wash cloth and pressing it against his swollen face.

Tyler squinted up at her through swollen eyes, "Getting my ass kicked," he smirked, the movement of his muscles causing him to cringe in pain. Caroline merely rolled her eyes in response, continuing to clean his wounds and wipe up the blood that was in the process of drying on his face. Tyler gasped softly, flinching away from her when she brushed across a particularly sensitive part of his face, and Caroline shot him an apologetic look.

"Why were you over there in the first place?" She asked, her mouth forming a thin line.

"Why do you think?" Tyler growled, leaning back into the couch, his gaze trained on Caroline's. "I don't understand how you can even like him."

Caroline paled, averting her eyes from Tyler's and accidentally pressing down on a wound harder than she intended. Tyler hissed in pain, and Caroline snatched the cloth away, "I'm sorry, I just-"

"Like him," he finished, grabbing the hand that was holding the towel and bringing it back to his face. "It's okay, I get it. I just don't understand why. You deserve so much better than that guy,"

Caroline looked at him thoughtfully, smiling at the sincerity in his voice. "Damon and I are...never going to happen," she sighed quietly. "It's too complicated." She added, thinking back on her conversation with Elena earlier that day. "He's in love with Elena, and Elena...well, she kissed him."

Tyler widened his swollen eyes as much as he could. "What?" Caroline shrugged, nodding her head. "So..." he trailed off. "They're a 'thing' now?"

Caroline laughed, "That's what I said. But no, I don't think so. At least, that's what Elena said. She's still all about Stefan. But now that she's gone and kissed Damon, it's not like he'd ever seriously consider _me_. I'm always the second choice," she muttered pathetically, looking down into her lap.

Tyler's hand found it's way to her cheek, his thumb brushing against the skin. "Hey, he doesn't deserve you anyway, Caroline."

"Whatever," she said, brushing his words off.

"I'm serious," he emphasized, forcing her to look up at him. "You're beautiful, and funny, and you care so much about other people. Any guy would be lucky to have you." He brought his another hand up to her cheek, cradling her face in his hands, and Caroline could only sit there, stunned as Tyler leaned forward and pressed his bruised lips against hers. Caroline's heart wrenched in her chest, knowing that Tyler was sincere about his emotions, but she couldn't bring herself to reciprocate the kiss. She knew it must've taken a lot of courage on Tyler's behalf to kiss her again, especially since the last time he had done so, she had shut him down, and so it pained her to pull away from him once more.

"Tyler..." she said quietly, unsure of what to say to him, knowing that no matter what she said, he would be hurt.

The said male sighed deeply. "I know, Caroline," He began softly, "I'm not the one you want." Caroline bit her bottom lip, looking at him sympathetically. "You just need to know that you are someone's first choice,"

Caroline exhaled loudly, her eyes becoming glassy as she tried to fight back the tears that threatened to spill over. She wrapped her arms around Tyler's neck, pulling him in for a tight embrace, not caring when he grunted in pain at her roughness. He only hesitated a moment before wrapping his arms around her, cradling her in her arms. "I don't deserve _you_, Tyler..."

...

"What's up your ass?" Alaric asked, looking to his right at the brooding vampire.

Damon rolled his eyes and ignored him, downing another drink.

"Seriously, Damon," he pressed. "That's your fifth drink in the last ten minutes. Caroline troubles again?"

"Fuck Caroline," Damon snapped, hand signalling to the bartender to refill his drink.

"You are," Alaric cooed annoyingly, taking a sip of his own drink.

"No," he paused, raising his drink once again. "I am not,"

"Is that what's gotten into you?"

To be honest, Damon wasn't sure what had gotten into him. All he could think about was the look Caroline had given Tyler after she had thrown him off. It had been one of concern, of worry, as if she truly cared about him, and that look had irked him more than he cared to understand. Why was she looking at Tyler like that anyway? And Tyler had been the one to instigate the fight. Why was she more concerned about Tyler's well-being, when he had been the one to attack Damon? He refused to believe that he was so pissed off because he was jealous...

"Did you two break up?" Alaric asked, chuckling slightly.

"We were never together," he retorted sharply, finishing off his drink, relishing in the slight burn it caused going down his throat. "You know that," He couldn't understand, for the life of him, why he was so affected by the mere thought of Caroline. He had never been the relationship type, and never wanted to settle down with just _one_ girl, but since the night he had shown up on her doorstep, ragged and drunk from blood and vervain, and she had taken him in and cared for him, he hadn't been with another girl. Sure, Elena had kissed him, and he couldn't hide his delight at how satisfying it had been that she was the one to have kissed him, instead of the other way around, but in the past few weeks, the blonde baby vampire had been creeping into his mind a lot more often than he was willing to admit.

He needed a distraction, and it just so happened that a rather drunk, rather busty redhead had been eying him for the past five minutes. _Perfect._

"And there's my cue," Damon said, gesturing to the woman, and Alaric only rolled his eyes as Damon stood from his chair and walked over to the redhead. She seemed more than pleased that he had walked over to her as she lewdly pressed her curvy body against his, reaching up to place her hand on his chest.

After a few moments of small talk, she wrapped her arms around his neck, his hands gliding down her body and squeezing her ass before she leaned up to kiss him. He let her do it because he couldn't think of a good reason to stop her, and when she pulled back, her hand moved to the front of his pants and rubbed. "Want me to blow you?"

And it all felt so pathetic.

Damon guided her through the building and out the back door, knowing that Alaric was probably passed caring about what Damon got himself into, and was probably heading home. He leaned his head against the wall of the alley once they were outside and the girl hastily undid his pants, freeing his length and wasting no time.

He just rolled his eyes and let his head fall back, trying to feel her tongue and mouth on his cock and wanting to enjoy it as best and he could.

And then Caroline flashed before his eyes again, and he felt a spike of pleasure up his spine. She sucked harder, and Damon remembered Caroline's eyes looking up at him as she sucked on him. A tongue ran over the slit and Damon grunted, thinking of nothing but Caroline.

He came moments later, spilling himself down a willing throat and then tucking himself back into his pants.

"That was fast," the girl giggled drunkenly.

But Damon just scowled and zipped up his jacket. He had somewhere he needed to go.

...

Caroline was nearly asleep, having decided to take an early night, when she heard the hasty knock at her door.

At first, she was confused, thinking that Tyler had forgotten something when he had left, but then she rubbed her groggy eyes and realized that Tyler hadn't brought anything with him.

Standing up, she walked out of her room and down the hall, trying to peer through the window to see who it was, however, whomever it was had not been standing in view. She opened the door, eyes wide when she saw a flushed and panting Damon standing in her doorway.

"Damon," she began, surprised. "Did you just run or someth-"

But Caroline was cut off when Damon pushed her back into the house and slammed the door shut behind him. Without any words of explanations, he grabbed her shirt and jerked her forward, kissing her hard.

Caroline let out a yelp of surprise and her hands reflexively when to Damon's shoulders to steady herself as the taller vampire leaned over her and sucked at her lips with a desperation that sent her mind reeling.

There was a nipping of lips and a gasp and suddenly tongues collided, pressing against each other and tasting deeply. Caroline, not thinking about what she was doing, started to kiss back passionately, shutting her eyes and moaning into the familiar kiss.

Caroline didn't know why Damon was doing this. She knew it was fucked up to go along with it, but everything he did just felt so damn good. His lips were warm and soft - his tongue wet and slick against her own. He reached up and stroked her face with his hands, savoring the smooth skin before moving his hands into her hair and tilting her head back further, as if he was trying to devour her.

Caroline whimpered from the feeling and pressed her body against Damon's. She was breathing heavily and her heart was racing. She wrapped her arms around Damon's waist and ran her hands up and down Damon's back as he continued to kiss her like his life depended on it. Fiercely and passionately.

And then lips were separated and panting breath mingled as their faced lingered close. Caroline daringly opened her eyes and found Damon staring down at her, face flushed and lips swollen and abused.

"What was that?" She whispered.

Damon's hands were still in her hair and their bodies still pressed close together. "I don't know," he replied quietly. "I just had to."

"Had to kiss me?" She asked, suddenly feeling very vulnerable and she stepped away from Damon looking at the floor. "I'm not some whore you can come to every time you're horny."

"It's not like that, blondie," he said, shaking his head. "I-"

"You _what?_" She snapped. "You thought you could come mess with me one more time? Make a joke of me? Yeah, go kiss Caroline, she never says no." Caroline shook her head and ran a hand through her hair. "I'm not a fucking toy."

"I know that," he replied. "I never thought you were a toy."

"Then stop treating me like one!" She exclaimed. "You know damn well how I feel about you! And I know damn well how _you_ feel about _Elena_. Yet you keep coming back to _me_." She paused, looking back up at Damon. "Why do you keep coming back to me?"

Damon sighed and walked over to the couch, sitting down on the cushions. "Because I like you."

Caroline wanted to know what that meant. She did. But she was too paranoid to even consider it. He was in love with Elena, and that was the end of it. "Okay, yeah. We're friends, I get it. But that doesn't mean you can fuck around with my feelings."

"No," Damon said gruffly. He grabbed Caroline's wrist and pulled her to sit down next to him. With a shaking hand - which shocked her - he reached over and held her face. "I _like_ you, Caroline. I don't know what the fuck's going on with me, but I can't get you out of my system." He took a deep breath before sighing audibly.

Caroline was staring at him in disbelief, still not able to process the hand on her cheek or the look in Damon's eyes. "What are you saying?"

Damon frowned and stared into Caroline's eyes. "I'm saying that I like you."

"You like a lot of things," Caroline said bitterly. "Like fucking random girls, and killing people."

"That's the thing! I haven't been fucking random girls," Damon exclaimed. "I honestly have no idea what's going on, but I want _you_..." He trailed off and looked away. "I don't know why, but I do. It's all I can think about. And you know me, I don't _do_ relationships, nor do I stick with just one girl, but I just can't get over this."

Caroline took in a deep breath and her hands flexed on her knees. "You want me?"

Damon nodded uncomfortably. "I've fucked plenty of girls. You're right. But lately, _you_ are the only one that I think about."

She sighed deeply, unsure of how to respond. "So, what do you want from me?"

"I want _you,_" Damon replied, looking uncomfortable with his admission.

"But you don't want a relationship?" She asked in disbelief. "And of course, we wouldn't be able to tell anyone, right?"

"Do you think it would be a good idea to tell everyone about us?" He asked hastily.

"I don't want to be a dirty little secret, Damon." She snapped. "I'm-"

But Damon was kissing her again, a tinge of desperation in the movement. Caroline couldn't help but kiss back. sighing and wrapping her arms around his neck. Sure, it was all good and easy to play hard to get when Damon was just babbling at him, but Caroline had never been able to resist him when he touched her.

They kissed for a surprisingly long time, tongues pressing and lips pulling. And when they finally pulled apart, Caroline looked into Damon's piercing blue eyes, searching them for some kind of solution to their current predicament. It felt so good to be with Damon, and she didn't want to deprive herself of something that felt so amazing, but when she honestly thought about it, she couldn't imagine being in a relationship with Damon again. The last time they had been boyfriend and girlfriend, when she was human, he had used and abused her, then tried to kill her. And thinking back on that, made her realized just how fucked up she truly was. But Damon had just admitted that he liked her...what did that even mean?

"This is fucked up from the beginning. This is never going to work," she commented.

"Then tell me no right now," Damon said seriously. "Tell me you don't want me,"

Caroline looked at him for a long moment, her expression calm and calculating. "Fine." She said firmly. "But it's not a relationship. And it's not going to be long-term."

"Okay."

"And no commitment. You're not going to be my boyfriend," she stated.

"Good. And I don't do sappy shit." He countered.

"Great, just sex. That's it. I like you, but I'm not going to be in a relationship with you." And Damon nodded, agreeing with her statement. "And Elena _cannot_ find out. Better yet, _no one_ can find out. Even_ I_ know that this is fucked up."

He raised his eyebrows at her. "No shit."

Caroline rolled her eyes at his remark before placing her arms around his neck once again. "Fine, then I think _now_ would be a good time to kiss me again."

And as Damon complied with her request, she could only wonder what the fuck she had just decided to do and how the hell she was going hide this from everyone else.

...

A/N: Whew! That was a hard chapter to write. It's still hard for me to imagine Damon having feelings for someone other than Elena, since the show pretty much GROUND that in, but I am working on it. And I honestly can't see Damon and Caroline in an honest-to-god relationship just yet, soooo, they're fuck buddies. That like each other. Oh, how they like to complicate things~ Anyways, hope you enjoyed. You guys are sooooooooo AMAZING! As always, reviews are adored. ;]


	15. (One of Those) Crazy Girls

A/N: I had originally planned on abandoning this story, considering that my schedule is absolutely insane right now. But, I just feel the need to finish this! Or at least, try to finish it. Of course, my updates will probably be spaced out a lot, but I'll try my best to finish it. Thank you for remaining loyal, if you are still reading this. It's also been a while since I've written anything, so I hope this chapter is up to par. Hope you enjoy! 

* * *

Beeping sounded, droning on, over and over, invading the heads of the sleeping bodies and yanking them from their unconscious states. Damon stirred, rolling over and reaching out for a pillow, wanting to bury his head and forget the unpleasantness of the outside world. He felt heat next to him, the warm security of a body stir, and immediately his eye popped open. He sat upright in the bed, moving the covers lower and catching a glimpse of his sleeping partner's bare chest before yanking the covers back up. He searched his brain for some coherent sense of what was happening.

A headache began to throb and he found himself falling back onto the bed, still hearing the annoying beeping that hadn't stopped. Craning his neck, he could see the alarm clock, and reaching over the woman that lay next to him, he hit the 'alarm' button on the clock, slowly beginning to register the events that had occurred no less than a couple of hours ago. Everything that he had done, everything that he had said, and who he had done and said those things to. Why the hell was an alarm going off at six-thirty in the morning anyway?

The blonde stirred, rolling so that her head rested on his chest before he had a chance to pull his arm all the way back. Sighing, he let the limb fall lightly across her waist, his fingers spreading and laying calmly across her back. She snuggled closer to him, her blonde strands tickling across his neck as she moved. He smiled, leaning his head downward so that it rested on the crook of her neck, breathing in her scent. It was sweet, and comforting, as it had always been, only now it was mixed with the smell of him and breathing it in sent a parade of emotions welling through him, crowding his stomach so that it did crazy flips and twists before he could regain himself.

And it suddenly hit him. He was cuddling. Damon Salvatore was _cuddling_...and he couldn't even bring himself to deny that he was enjoying it. His smell on her body, the way she felt against him, the gentle rise and fall of her chest and she slumbered quietly in his arms, everything...felt wonderful, and he knew that he wanted things to be like this. He leaned his head down closer into her neck, kissing it softly and then a little more demandingly. "Caroline," He called, knowing that she needed to be up now. "Caroline," He called again, nuzzling her neck with his chin.

This time she moved. Her eyes fluttered open and she blinked rapidly, regaining herself and her surroundings. Her eyes landed on his - he had moved his face to be level with hers, and for a brief second, he saw panic and pure confusion flit through them. Then came the recognition. The realization. And apparently, the embarrassment because her face flushed three different shades of red before she could control it.

"What?" She asked as calmly as she could manage, trying for all she was worth to act unaffected by the fact that she was naked. And he was naked. And they were touching.

"Why was your alarm clock going off so early in the morning?"

It was a simple question, but it caused panic to seize through every crevice of her body. Reality donned on her and she became painfully aware that this wasn't another dream. This was real. Damon was laying in her bed, holding her in his arms, and they had just had sex again.

And it was past six-thirty. She was laying in someone's arms when she was supposed to be starting her day. Much worse, they had concocted this crazy idea that they could continue to sleep with each other, and that in the mornings, it would mean nothing else. That they would continue on with their lives and things would be fine. And now, she didn't know what to do. How could she pretend, after the both of them had admitted they had feelings for each other, that he meant nothing to her?

His hand moved, the arm that was draped across her, and for a second she thought he was going to pull her back to him. For a second she held her breath, hoping he had changed his mind somewhere between "I like you" and "This means nothing". But her hopes were smashed when his hand fell limply to his side and his head hit the pillow once again.

"What's wrong?" He asked after a second of strained silence between them. She swallowed and prepared herself for what she was about to do. Steeling her emotions so that he didn't have the chance to make her look like an idiot.

"Nothing's wrong," she said, distantly and nearly cold as she sat up in bed, pulling one of the sheets with her as she slid off the bed.

"You didn't answer my question." He moved slightly so that she could pull the rest of her cover with her, watching with interested eyes as she moved around in the baby blue sheet, completely naked underneath.

"I have to get ready. I have to go to cheer practice, you know?" She wrapped the sheet tighter around herself, noticing where his gaze was landing and feeling slightly uncomfortable. She hated that at times, she could feel so at ease, so calm with him, and then in other moments, she felt like she was under deep scrutiny.

"That requires you to wake up before the birds?" He smirked, noticing the way her arms tightened around her breasts, as if he didn't still have a mental image of what her naked body looked like. Splayed across her living room floor, later in the hallway on the way to her room, and then on her bed only a couple of hours ago.

"I have to get ready. It takes a while," She turned on him, searching for something but he wasn't clear on what. He sighed, rolling over in her bed and shutting his eyes for a few seconds. He knew that she was clearly regretting what they had done, and he knew that he should say something to her, but he couldn't seem to make his mouth form the sentences that he needed to get the words out.

And truthfully, he hadn't thought he'd need to. She had been the one to place the ground rules of their...agreement. To be perfectly honest, he didn't have the slightest clue as to what he was supposed to say to her.

"Cheerleaders..." he muttered. She paused, and turned back to face him, frozen in time for a few precious seconds. She looked beautiful. Her blonde, curly hair was bed messy, and the sheet around her only served to make her look more sexy, her bright blue eyes seeming to sparkle in the morning light. Her lips were pursed, slightly open, and pink in color. She was just overall...beautiful. He wanted nothing more, in that moment, to ravish her once again.

This was crazy. An overwhelming feeling of true elation and complete abandon. It started in his stomach and spread to the tips of his hair and corners of his toes. He needed her. He wanted her. But as her eyes narrowed and she stepped cautiously to the bed, giving him a look she had used several times with him before, he knew that she was going to try and back out of their agreement.

"You should leave now, before anyone sees you." Her voice was slightly distant, more worried than anything.

"Caroline,"

"Damon, you should leave." She said more firmly, not leaving room for argument. "What if my mom comes home? And someone could see your car outside."

"You sure you want me to go?" He actually sounded sad, almost pitiful as he asked, and she nodded. She knew this was the only way. She had to tell him to go, because if she didn't, should would only end up hurting herself.

"Yes, I do." She managed, keeping her voice even and without emotion. And as she watched his face, she could nearly see the disappointment spread across his features as he nodded, brushing dark strands of hair out of his face.

"So, that's it then?" They had finally come to an agreement, and just like that, it was over. He was so confused. But he should have expected that from Caroline. She had always been a bit extreme with her emotions, and could never make up her mind when it came to things like this. So that was it, then? That's what he was asking. She had slept with him, taken care of him, gotten under his skin, and gotten him to confess that he actually liked her, and now she was through, and asking him to leave her house?

"What more should there be?" She asked, shifting slightly in her position at the foot of the bed, almost as if she felt guilty. He resisted the urge to growl.

"Oh, I don't know," He started sarcastically. "Anything to say about what happened last night?"

"Oh, yeah," Her eyes lit up as she nodded. "Thanks,"

Damon narrowed his eyes, and pursed his lips. "Right, well. I guess I should go then," They both nodded.

The anger that she saw in his eyes scared her slightly. But it also let her know that she was doing the right thing. If she had truly meant something to him, other than just a good time, he would have fought for her. He was a grown man, and had many more years of experience than her, and he was supposed to fight for the things that meant something. And she was not about to be that exception. And if she had to crush his pride, then so be it. Damon Salvatore was bad news, and she refused to be played for a fool.

"Let's get dressed," she spoke, reaching for a shirt that she had been looking for since she got out of the bed. "And I'll walk you out."

He nodded, not able to argue or comprehend anything that was happening in that moment. He got out of bed, not bothering to cover himself, and walked through her room, down the hallway, and back into the living room. He threw his boxers and pants on, then pulled his shirt over his head. He snatched up his jacket, shoes and sock and walked over to the door, just as Caroline emerged from her room, dressed in the shirt she had found and a pair of shorts. She smiled at him slightly in a way that made him want to punch something.

"So, what? You're out now?" He asked, hoping that she would quit the indifferent act. He snorted at his own self-delusion.

"Are you serious? You know we can't do this," she shook her head, letting him know that she wasn't going to change her mind about the subject.

"Why not? It's good, isn't it?" He tried again, still standing at the door, hoping that she'd ask him not to go. And Damon mentally wanted punch himself for suddenly needing a woman so badly.

"Of course, it's good! But that's not the point, Damon."

"Then what is?"

"The point is that you and I are so wrong for each other, it's not even funny. _We_ don't work. Most of the time we can't even stand each other, and the only time we can even remotely get along is when we're having sex. And it's just…messy, and complicated, and – so insane."

Damon nodded slowly, taking a few steps towards her and securing his hands on her hips.

"Stop," she said weakly. Before she could protest any further, he leaned in and kissed her. He pulled her close, feeling her body mold with his, feeling the way she shook in his arms, and knowing the sexual tension was still there. Very much alive. And that she still wanted this. Only, her arms came up to his shoulders and pushed him away, biting her bottom lip as she shook her head.

"This could never work," she forced out, trying hard to ignore how good it felt to be close to him. "This will only end badly,"

"We made a deal, remember?" He said. "There's nothing wrong with what we're doing," He needed her to understand that he was serious when he said that she was the only one on his mind. Needed her to understand that he had meant it when he said that he wanted her. "You know you still want this..._I_ want this. I _need_ this, Caroline." He pressed on, sacrificing his pride, knowing that he would not be able to get over this if she chose to truly end it there.

Caroline closed her eyes, willing herself not to get sucked into his longing gaze. Damon was too close, too gorgeous, too intoxicating, and she cursed herself for not being able to resist him – she couldn't even think straight when he was that close. When she opened her eyes again, she felt like she was in a daze, and before she could think any better of it, she responded, full force, to his words by planting a kiss of her own on his lips. God, she was an idiot...

His jacket, shoes and socks clamored to the floor, and he never made it out the door.

...

Approximately three months later...

_'Stefan, where are you? You need to come home.'_

_'I should've never told you to go to Klaus. I'm sorry, Stefan. Please come home__.__'_

_'Everyone's worried about you, Stefan! Please answer your messages.'_

_'You know, you're not being a very good friend right now. Quit being such a jerk!'_

_'Okay, so that last message was a little harsh. I'm just worried about you.'_

_'Stefan…I'm still sleeping with Damon. I need you to tell me that I'm an idiot__.__'_

_'STEFAN SALVATORE. I SWEAR TO GOD, IF YOU DON'T ANSWER YOUR MESSAGES, I WILL HURT YOU!'_

_'Seriously? No one has heard from you in months. I'd appreciate _something_ to let me know you're still alive. _Anything._'_

_'Anytime you want to come back would be great, you know. I would like to have my friend my now.'_

_'Stefan, I miss you…'_

...  


The alarm on Caroline's phone went off at 4:15 in the morning. It wasn't a constant, obnoxious buzzing, but just a few soft beeps that gradually got louder. In the darkness of the large room, she tried to reach over to the nightstand to get her phone, but a heavy weight rested over her bare abdomen. She frowned in momentary confusion, but managed to maneuver around the obstacle and grab her phone. She groaned in annoyance, the muscles in her body seemingly protesting any sort of movement that she attempted to make. A tingle went up her spine as she recalled the events from the previous night, turning onto her side and gazing at the beautiful, naked man that lay beside her, one of his arms curled protectively around her equally naked form.

It had already been a couple months, and still she couldn't fight the gnawing feeling of guilt that she felt. An entire summer had passed since they had started this "thing", and so far, Elena, and all the others were none the wiser, with perhaps the exception of Tyler, although she had never confirmed it. Stefan was still missing, and Elena had occupied the majority of her time with her attempts to track him down. And while Caroline had originally thought that with Stefan out of the picture for as long as he had been, Damon would have chosen to end things with her to swoop in on Elena, he had done no such thing. But, just as they had agreed upon, they had kept their "relationship" strictly physical. As good as it felt to be with Damon, she knew it was wrong in so many ways. He was Damon, after all. Psychotic, arrogant, brash, sadistic, extremely sexy Damon Salvatore. And he was so completely in love with her best friend.

So with that in mind, Caroline slipped out of the bed and gathered her clothes that had been discarded around the bed. This act had become somewhat of a habit for Caroline – spending the night with Damon, then sneaking out in the odd hours of the morning before Elena arrived to bother Damon with more dead-end leads on Stefan. Before she left the room, she looked over her shoulder at him, silently admiring the way he looks so peaceful and calm. A part of her wanted to stay – to crawl back into bed with him and never leave again – but she knew that the idea was ridiculous.

As she left the Salvatore boarding house, she held her head high, mentally preparing herself for the day she ahead of her. She wanted to throw herself onto the floor and work out all the conflicting emotions she was feeling, but she didn't have time for that. At the end of the day, she was still Caroline Forbes, and he was in love with Elena. And speaking of Elena – it was her birthday, and she and Tyler had an entire party to arrange for that night. And she wasn't going to let her best friend down just because she was having girly feelings about Damon Salvatore.

So after heading home, showering, and mentally making a list of everything she needed to accomplish before the evening, Caroline found herself downtown, gathering up the party supplies that were needed. She had met up with Tyler soon after, and the two of them brought all the supplies back to the Salvatore house. Caroline joined in with unloading the party provisions and somewhat rearranging the furniture, but she couldn't help noticing the faint scent of a woman's perfume that she had come to recognize as Damon's fake-compelled girlfriend's. Caroline couldn't stop the scowl from reaching her features and she nearly jumped out of her skin when Elena touched her on the shoulder.

"Whoa. A little jumpy today, Care?" She asked with a smile.

"Yeah, sorry," she replied with a sheepish smile. "I'm just thinking about everything we need to get done before tonight,"

"Well, it looks like you and Tyler managed to get everything we need," Elena shrugged, trying to reassure her friend that the party was going to turn out fine. "I got that information from your mom earlier," she paused. "Damon said he'd look into it."

Caroline felt a burn in her cheeks at the mention of his name so she looked away from Elena and pretended to rearrange the stacks of red plastic cups on the table. She stole a glance at Tyler, who had just placed a case of beer on a table, his eyes floating to hers and they stared at each other for a few seconds, Tyler seemingly noticing how nervous she had gotten when Elena had mentioned Damon's name.

"You okay, Care?" he asked. "You look like you didn't get any sleep last night,"

Caroline flushed even further, her mind's eye flashing to the previous night and the circumstances that had indeed refrained her from getting more than a couple hours of sleep. "I'm fine," she rushed out, and hurriedly busied herself with anything she could get her hands on.

By the evening, the boarding house had been stocked with and insurmountable quantity of beer and liquor, and the large living room was about halfway filled with guests when Caroline made her reappearance after going home to change into party attire. Tyler had gone to pick up his date, Slutty Sophie, as Caroline had dubbed her, and Elena had disappeared into Stefan's room, and had yet to make her debut to her own party.

As the house filled with more and more people, Caroline hung back by the majority of the alcohol, greeting people as they came in and handing out plastic cups of cheap keg beers. Just as she had finished ushering a few more guests further into the house, a deep voice behind her said, "You left pretty early this morning."

She froze in place and almost dropped her own cup of alcohol that she had slowly been nursing. She peered back momentarily to find a little smirk plastered across Damon's face.

"I had to," she said lowly, continuing to smile and hand out beer cups to more guests. "I had a party to plan and set up."

"Hmm." He pursed his lips like he wasn't impressed with her explanation.

"Plus, I didn't want Elena to find me here," she added, and Damon merely shrugged in response.

"I'm going to go track down the birthday girl," he paused, and Caroline raised an eyebrow, but when he didn't say anything else, she assumed that their conversation was over. She turned back to the crowd, thinking that it was about time she found Tyler to check in with him, but Damon leaned down to her ear and whispered, "You forgot your underwear." And with that, he walked away, catching her off guard with his response, and leaving her speechless. She has almost choked on her beer, but she recovered quickly and watched him disappear into the ever growing crowd.

This was going to be a long night, and she definitely needed more alcohol.

_…_

Damon didn't know the exact moment that things between them had changed, but he knew that things _had_ changed, and somehow, he had failed to notice the shift. It was as if one day, he had looked over at the blonde and saw something different about her and about the ties between them. It wasn't a change he could put a label on or even explain in terms that could be understood. The shift was so subtle, it left him confused once he actually noticed that it had happened. It irritated him even more that he couldn't understand it, but could only feel the change, could see it in Caroline's eyes and the way she talked to him...something about the tone of her voice had even changed when she was talking to him.

When she touched his arm or laughed at one of his stupid jokes or even smiled at him, everything seemed different all of the sudden, more distinct...altogether not the same as things had been between them only a few months ago. They had spent the entire summer sneaking around and spending time with each other, but it had finally dawned on him that things between them had changed. When had this happened and why had it taken him so long to catch onto the change? The tension that he normally felt whenever she was around had somehow dissipated, and they had fallen into a comfortable routine.

"Is this party really that boring or is that glass empty glass just much more interesting?" Damon heard Alaric's amused voice breaking through his lingering thoughts. "Are you okay? You've been staring off into space for the past thirty minutes and taking sips of your nonexistent drink, which in my opinion, is a little crazy." Alaric frowned at the empty glass that was currently resting against his lips.

Damon let out a deep sigh and looked down to see that his glass was, in fact, empty. "And while you were concentrated on breathing into your empty glass, I asked you when you were planning on telling Elena about all the leads you've found, to which you merely grunted. Then I asked if you were still sleeping with Andie, to which you also grunted. And then I asked-"

"I've got the point," Damon interrupted, somewhat surprised that he had been so engrossed in his thoughts of Caroline that he had somehow missed an entire conversation. "Sorry, got other things on my mind."

"You know," Alaric began, tossing back the drink he had been holding in his hand before continuing. "If the school knew that I was here, I would probably-" he cut himself off. "No, I would definitely get fired." He chuckled, glancing around the boarding house that was currently being overrun by drunken teenagers. "Half of these kids are in my class, and the other half? I have no idea where they came from. Whose idea was it to throw such a big party? I thought Elena didn't want to celebrate her birthday."

"Blondie," He rolled his eyes, "Who else could manage to throw such a ridiculous party?" Alaric didn't reply, nodding his head thoughtfully in acknowledgment. As a couple of teen girls walked by the pair, Damon was quick to snatch a bottle from one of the unsuspecting girls before compelling to wander off and enjoy the party. He scoffed, pouring some of the liquor into his glass before placing the bottle between the two of them. "Where do they keep finding my good stuff?" He asked incredulously.

Alaric sighed deeply, looking back down at the almost empty glass. "I am every parent's worst nightmare." He shook his head, as if he were disapproving of his own actions. "I am the chaperone-teacher from hell,"

Damon smirked, taking a look around the house for the first time, taking notice of the large amount of people that had seemingly arrived within minutes. He nodded his head, enjoying the sight of the scantily clad, drunk teen girls that now littered the house. Briefly he thought about the mess that was going to be left behind, but he couldn't bring himself to care as he watched a couple of drunk girls tripping over themselves. "I _love_ high school parties."

Alaric rolled his eyes at his friend, "Isn't Andie supposed to be coming?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Ten o'clock broadcast should be on in a bit," he replied quickly, taking a sip of his drink. Within moments, Elena had walked up to them, informed Alaric that Jeremy was smoking again and had asked Alaric to talk to him about it before stalking back off into the abyss of the party. "You're screwed." He joked, taking another sip of his drink. He vaguely registered Alaric sighing once again before they fell into a comfortable silence, watching the party continue on.

Damon was just about to make another comment about how much he loves drunk teenage girls, when one particular drunk blonde happened to catch his gaze. She was laughing, a huge, effortless smile plastered across her lips, and a too drunk, nameless guy was almost haphazardly pressed against her back as the two of them danced together to the irritating poppy music in the background. He felt his eyes narrow on the pair of them, unsure of the sudden surge of what, he didn't completely know, that was coursing through his chest when he saw the drunken male placing sloppy, openmouthed kisses against the blonde's bare neck, his hands trailing up and down the front of her thighs as they moved together.

Caroline had a bottle in one of her hands, the other was fisted in the guy's short, choppy hair, seemingly enjoying the onslaught of his hands and lips on her compliant body. Damon felt every muscle in his body tighten with _anger?_ _Jealousy?_ The emotion was unclear, he only knew that he had the sudden urge to rip the no-name male's head from his body. And when the song ended, much to Damon's dismay, Caroline turned around in the guy's arms and he watched as she whispered something - something he couldn't hear, no matter how hard he tried to listen - into his ear. Another song started up, and the two of them began to dance once again, Caroline occasionally taking sips from the bottle she held in her hand, the smile never leaving her face.

Damon sat seething in his own anger as he continued to watch them, unable to tear his eyes away from the way that they danced too close to each other, and the way that the male's hands trailed along the expanse of her body. He realized that this wasn't the first time that he had felt this way, recalling the 60's decade dance and how he had disliked the fact that she had danced with her, at the time, boyfriend Matt _and_ Stefan, and that she had been dancing with them, purposefully trying to irritate him. He thought for a moment that she could possibly be pulling the same stunt, but the carefree smile upon her lips, and the fact that she had taken absolutely no notice of him the entire night told him otherwise. He tried to push back the thought that he didn't like her dancing with anyone else because she was _his_, because in all reality, he had no claim over her, but he couldn't stop his mind from running wild, until finally, he couldn't take it anymore.

"I'll be right back," Damon said quickly, finished the remainder of his drink and slamming it down on the railing he and Alaric had been sitting on. Alaric eyed him for a moment, but merely shrugged and went back to nursing his drink, deciding that it was probably time for him to try and track Jeremy down. He approached the unsuspecting couple, his eyes narrowed on the pair before he all but shoved himself in between their bodies, his arm snaking around Caroline's waist before facing the anonymous male. "Go. Away." He turned back to the drunken blonde, his large hands splaying themselves against her back, one resting just above her ass, the other trailing upwards in an attempt to press her body closer to his. Disoriented and drunk as she was, Caroline immediately stiffened when she met his hardened gaze.

She could tell he wasn't in a good mood, and she audibly gulped at what she saw within the depths on his gaze, fearing what she knew he was going to do next. He pulled her impossibly closer with one hand, the other burying itself in her hair as his mouth descended onto hers in what was supposed to be a chaste kiss, but the anger and desire that burned inside of him for her spread like wildfire the moment their lips touched and soon his tongue was stroking hers in a lewd kiss that seemed to go on forever.

Realizing her momentary lapse, Caroline attempted to push away from him. "Damon, stop," she breathed out, desperately trying to escape from his strong hold on her. After a moment of struggling, she managed to break free and she immediately turned around, all but running away from the makeshift dance floor. His eyes followed her as she walked away, and he couldn't stop himself from pursuing her, his mind still in a fog of lust and outrage at the thought of someone else touching her. The whole situation felt surreal, and when they had made it to a somewhat deserted hall of the house, Caroline turned around sharply, throwing her hands into the air in an exasperated manner.

"Have you completely lost your mind?" She asked in a harsh whisper. "Do you _want_ everyone to know that we're sleeping together?"

"Maybe," he replied languidly, making a move toward her, but Caroline easily dodged him.

"You can't do this," she hurried out, smacking his hand away when he reached out for her. "Not here, not now."

"Fine," he suddenly shot back, just as harshly, catching her in a hard gaze as he moved towards her once again. It was as if he was stalking her and the closer he got, the more she moved back until her back was pressed against the wall. One of his hands came to rest on the wall to the left of her head, the other finding her hips as he leaned down, closing the distance between them until their noses were almost touching. "Upstairs, fifteen minutes."

He still hadn't kissed her, but he ghosted his lips along her skin and he knew that she was fighting an internal battle with herself, stopping herself from pulling him closer.

"Fine."

...

Caroline threw open the door to one of the balconies of the Salvatore boarding house with undue malice, making it connect harshly with the glass windows of the wall as she did so. Still, the violent act did nothing to dispel her aggravation at the current situation she was in. She had slipped away from Elena's birthday party that was still raging downstairs, and had hidden away in Damon's bedroom. She knew there was a risk in meeting him while everyone was still in the house, but she supposed that they would all be preoccupied with the party. Not to mention that Damon had been acting like a jealous boyfriend the entire night, and was being extremely reckless. She had no idea what was going through that insane mind of his. What had he been thinking? Kissing her in public like he had. They were lucky that no one had been around to see them.

As pissed off as she was about the kiss, she couldn't deny that his aggressiveness had been somewhat arousing. So she had thrown all inhibitions away and agreed to meet him in his room. Much to her dismay, she had been discovered by none other than Elena, but instead of trying to come up with some sort of explanation as to why she had been in Damon's room, she had changed the subject altogether and asked Elena if she was hiding from her own party. They had gotten into a small argument about Stefan, and then Elena had discovered Damon's secret closet of information about Klaus and the aforementioned Stefan's whereabouts. Elena had immediately called Damon afterwards, only to find out that he was no longer in the vicinity. The revelation that he had left the party, without any notice, had irked Caroline more that she cared to admit, especially since he had been the one to arrange their 'meeting' in his room. What only added fuel to the tumultuous, fiery pit that was burning inside her chest was to find out that Damon had gone to play the chivalrous boyfriend to that stupid, fake bitch girlfriend of his. It seemed that as the night progressed, the events only served to irritate her.

Agitatedly, she reached into her jacket pocket, pulling out her hidden stash of cigarettes and removing one from the pack, pulling out her lighter and lighting it as she slid down the wall, sitting on the floor. Damon had ditched her for his "girlfriend". She had learned several weeks ago that Damon had started dating the local newscaster, Andie Star – although "dating" probably wasn't the correct term to describe their relationship. Still, it baffled her as to why Damon was continuing on with their agreement if he was getting in it with Andie, and frankly, as much as she hated to admit it, she found herself hating the idea of Damon being in a relationship – fake or not – while he was 'with' her.

That fact alone, had irritated her. The notion that she had become upset that Damon was with someone else had pissed her off beyond belief. It was almost as if she were jealous - she shook the thought from her mind. When she was with Damon, it was as if she didn't know herself anymore. She didn't know what she wanted or how she felt. If it hadn't been for Damon, Caroline was willing to believe that she would have probably gotten together with Tyler by now, and they could've been really happy together. After all, Tyler was everything she could want in a boyfriend. Kind, giving, and extremely hot.

But then there was Damon, and her whole world had been turned upside down. With Damon, every part of her felt like it was on fire, and she wasn't referring just to her body. She felt a level of awareness when she was with him - she felt alive. Damon inspired a passion within her that she hadn't known she possessed. He made her feel so many different things at once that it was sometimes overwhelming.

With Damon, she couldn't explain what she felt. Anger, lust, frustration, possessiveness, and many other things she didn't want to think about. It was disconcerting most of the time. And it took all her effort to stay calm around him. At first, she had been unsure of whether or not she liked the lack of control. It had irritated her, intimidated her. She hadn't been sure how to handle it, so she had lashed out at Damon; insults, arguments, _anger_. Then the lust had taken her full force, driving that anger into a dangerous passion that she wasn't able to control for long.

But now...now it was something else entirely. She still felt all those things, but there was something else. Something had changed and she now felt something other than an animalistic desire for him. She knew it made no sense and it got her nowhere thinking about it. Thinking about it only suggested possibilities that just weren't allowed to happen.

They couldn't happen.

So she had chosen to ignore it. It had been the only way she had made it through the past months without losing it. And while there were still a lot of things to worry about, Caroline actually found joy in the time when she was _with_ him. It was sort of an escape for her, a place where she could run from reality, away from vampires - minus the blood-sharing she partook in during her more...passionate encounters with Damon, away from werewolves, away from everything that worried her. And suffice it to say, the sex was amazing.

She exhaled the smoke from her lungs and watched with a bored interest as the smoke mixed with the cold air of the night, thinking back on the events of the day - or rather, what had been bothering her all day, vaguely registering the approaching footsteps she heard.

"You're smoking again?"

Caroline smiled and turned to look up at the new arrival, blowing smoke in the male's direction as he rolled his eyes in response.

"Smoking is a terrible habit." He chastised, taking a seat next to her.

"Sorry, mom." She replied, holding her cigarette between her lips before she reached out and grabbed the half empty beer bottle that was in one of Tyler's hands. "You should really stop stalking me, you know." She took a swig from his bottle.

"Shut up." He shot back, taking his bottle back from her and taking a sip.

"Shouldn't you be off somewhere with slutty Sophie? You know, quenching your werewolf desires and all," teased, but Tyler merely rolled his eyes once again and said nothing. The two of them sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments, taking turns drinking from the beer bottle before Tyler spoke again, breathing his calm words into the air of the night.

"What's bothering you?"

Caroline immediately frowned and her fingers flexed against her knees. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not stupid, Care," Tyler murmured, taking the still burning cigarette from between Caroline's fingers and stubbing it out on the ground beside him. "You've been stressed out about something practically _all_ summer, and we've been with each other _all_ summer. So, what's up?"

"Nothing," she replied almost immediately, shaking her head. "Nothing's wrong with me,"

"Sure,"

Caroline scowled. "I'm serious," She replied, voice thick with conviction.

Tyler sighed audibly, his mouth curving downward into a small frown. "Then, is this about Damon again?" Caroline turned her head in his direction, eyes wide in shock, only to see a worried look upon Tyler's face. "You've been acting like a jealous girlfriend all day. Ever since Elena mentioned that Damon was bringing Andie to the party, you've been pissed off." Tyler frowned when she didn't respond and tilted his head to the side. "Do you love him?"

Caroline looked like a deer caught in headlights. "Wha - uh. Well...I..." she stammered for a moment. She knew that there was a possibility that Tyler may have known about what she had been doing with Damon? She had thought that she'd been successful in keeping it private, what if she hadn't been as careful as she thought? Did that mean other people knew about it? She racked her brain, momentarily terrified that she had been found out, but realized that there was no possible way that anyone could _know_ about them. They had been far too cautious, making sure that neither of them had left a trail. "What kind of question is that?"

"A serious one." He pushed, nudging her with one of his elbows in a playful manner.

"No," she said sharply, shaking her head. "I don't _love_ him. Why would you even think that?"

"You sound like you're trying to convince yourself of that," he began, finishing off the last of the liquid in the bottle he had been sharing with the blonde. He glanced towards her, noticing that she had a far off look in her eyes, the cigarette between her fingers long forgotten and almost burned down to the filter. He took the liberty in taking it from her then flicking the unhealthy stick over the edge of the balcony, shaking his head in a disapproving manner when she looked at him and pouted. "I know that you're still sleeping with him, Care." He finished softly, and Caroline immediately let out an audible sigh as if she were relieved.

"You must think I'm pathetic," she stated with a mirthless laugh.

"You're not pathetic, a little stupid, maybe, but definitely not pathetic." He tried to reassure her.

"When we started this, Damon said that he liked me. God knows what he meant by that, but I'm pretty sure he meant _like like._" Caroline blushed, reminiscing on the night that Damon had shown up at her house unannounced and confessed his 'feelings' for her. "But it's been three months, and he has a girlfriend or whatever. And he still loves Elena, who has no idea that I'm sleeping with him, so she goes around kissing him and walking in on him while he's naked, and I just – I don't know. Am I jealous? Because honestly, that's kind of ridiculous." Caroline took a breath, pausing her rambling to take in Tyler's reaction to her sudden admission.

Tyler merely blinked at her, seemingly trying to process the information he had just received. "So stop sleeping with him," he offered simply.

Caroline hung her head. "I…can't. I don't know what I'm doing, Tyler. I just know that I've tried to stop, but I can't. It's like I have no self-restraint. There's something wrong with me, isn't there?"

Tyler grabbed her chin and forced the blonde to face him. "There's nothing wrong with you, Caroline." He said softly, his hand sliding up her face to rest upon her cheek.

Caroline gave him a small smile, appreciating how Tyler had always known how to make her stop hating herself. She stared at him in silence, almost as if she was seeing him for the first time. And in a way, she kind of was. Leave it to Tyler to know exactly what was going through her mind. It was almost unbelievable that she hadn't been able to see it before. All the things that Tyler did for her. All the times he took care of her and showed her concern. All the times they had spent hours talking and he had listened to what she had to say. Tyler had always been there for her. He had been the most steadfast person in her life, and as much as she had been angry before, she felt thrilled at the realization that someone actually cared about her.

She reached up, her hands coming rest on each side of Tyler's face. She took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts before she spoke; "You've always been there for me," she said, looking him directly in the eyes. "No matter what, you've been my support. I've only recently realized just how much you mean to me. I think if I didn't have you, I would probably lose my mind. You're the one person that has kept me sane through all of this,"

Tyler stared back at her, slightly confused by her words. "Why you are telling me this…?" he questioned.

"Because you are amazing. And I'm kind of drunk, and I know how much you like me, and I mean, I kind of like you too" she replied, realizing that her responses probably made no sense. Tyler continued staring at her silently, pondering what her next move would be, his own mind slightly clouded by the large quantity of alcohol that he had consumed that evening. "I'm going to kiss you now," she announced suddenly, and without further ado, she leaned forward and captured Tyler's lips with her own, her hands sliding from his cheeks to his perfectly styled hair, entangling her fingers within it.

Within moments, Tyler was kissing her back and Caroline couldn't stop the whimper that hummed through their kiss. Tyler wrapped an arm around her waist, threading the fingers of his other hand through her blonde curly hair, pulling her closer as he deepened the kiss, his tongue diving into her willing mouth.

Caroline moaned and kissed him back fervently. She had no idea what was going on. She had only meant for the kiss to be innocent, as a sort of 'thank you' for his friendship, but he was kissing her so passionately that it made her head spin, and she couldn't seem to stop. She wanted more of this passion and earnest ardor. She could practically taste the genuine emotion in Tyler's kiss, and it had been such a long time since she had been kissed this way.

So she didn't stop. She continued to kiss Tyler like her life depended on it, stroking his hair and face and running her hand down his hard chest. He kissed her back so intensely that it made her moan and press closer to him, and she rose to her knees, his hands guiding her until she was straddling him, never once breaking their kiss. She could tell that Tyler had wanted this for a while and she felt guilty for denying him for so long. Out of everyone she knew, Tyler was the one person that was most deserving of her attention and she had been wasting her time chasing after someone who shouldn't even matter in her life. Tyler was genuine, and loyal, and so extremely sweet. She didn't know why she hadn't seen it sooner. She felt like such an idiot. Seconds later, however, Tyler was pulling away from her, holding her face away from his while he caught his breath.

"Care, what are we doing?" he asked in confusion, trying to stop himself from kissing her again as she still straddled him.

"I think this is the part where you don't ask questions," she replied cryptically, shrugging out of her small jacket before running her hands down Tyler's muscled chest.

Tyler sighed, his hands trailing a pattern over her bare thighs of their own accord. He knew what they were doing, and he knew what she was trying to accomplish, but he honestly couldn't quite bring himself to protest. He exhaled softly and closed his eyes for a moment before bringing her face back towards his own to press their lips together again. This kiss was languid and slow, almost delicate in its execution, and Caroline whined into the kiss, wanting more from him.

"This," another kiss as Tyler panted, trying to speak between Caroline's persistent mouth pressing against his own. "Isn't the way it was supposed to go," Tyler let out a feral groan as Caroline began grinding her hips against his own, clutching at his shirt desperately.

Caroline chuckled and pulled away, staring down at him in an adoring manner. "How exactly was it supposed to go, then?"

"You're using me to forget," he muttered. Caroline let out a surprised squeal when Tyler made a move to stand up, hoisting her body upwards with ease and his hands resting on the backs of her thighs as he maneuvered them until she was pressed firmly against the wall, her smooth legs wrapped around his waist. "I don't like that."

"But you're going along with it," she breathed out, carding her fingers through his hair once again. "Your pride obviously isn't too damaged." She continued to tease him, knowing full and well that he was not going to protest her actions.

"Maybe I'm hoping you'll think of a better reason," he replied, placing small kisses along the column of her neck.

"Maybe I will," she murmured, arching into his touch before pulling him into another kiss.

"Let's get out of here," he finally offered, his voice strained as he waited for her response. And Caroline could only nod her head, unable to control herself from shaking, wanting to feel more of what Tyler had to offer her.

He abruptly dropped her to her feet, taking her hand and leading her back through the house. She only vaguely registered that the party was still going strong, although Elena had long disappeared into Damon's room. And a part of her knew that she didn't like the idea of Elena being in there, but at the moment, she could only focus on the way that Tyler's hand felt in hers as he continued to guide her through the crowd.

As the pair of them headed for the front door, she noticed that Damon had finally made his reappearance, looking slightly disoriented, and while it had peaked her interest for a moment, she decided that she didn't care enough to bother with him, especially when Tyler looked back at her with a questioning gaze. She managed to snag a bottle of liquor from a random partygoer, took a large swig from it, then continued her journey with Tyler, passing Damon along the way and forcefully shoving the bottle into his grasp, mentioning something about how he had missed the cake, although, Caroline herself had missed the cake as well.

She wasn't sure why she was going with Tyler, but she knew that she probably wouldn't end up hating herself in the morning like she normally did when she had been with Damon. 

* * *

A/N: Okay so, it was extremely hard writing Forwood. But it's absolutely necessary to the storyline. So apologies if that part sucked. Hope it wasn't too all over the place. Hope you enjoyed and as always; reviews are love. :]


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